This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
Mark Gatiss has always enjoyed sleuthing in the sun. Yes, the Sherlock co-creator agrees murder mysteries are most often associated with dark winter nights, but also notes that “a lot of the famous ones have big, exotic, foreign settings”.
“When I was in Poirot 100 years ago, I absolutely couldn’t believe I was doing Appointment with Death, because we went to Morocco,” the Bookish creator and star tells RT.
“I got to wear linen – that’s what it’s all about! So I think it actually goes both ways.”
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Admittedly, the real reason Gatiss is returning with his own murder mystery during the summer months is more prosaic: “It’s when we’re on.” The U&Alibi crime drama Bookish returns for its second outing in August, and while the new series doesn’t visit sunny climes, it does move away from its bookshop setting in Archangel Lane.
“The whole thing has a slightly broader canvas,” Gatiss explains. “In episodes 5 and 6 we go to Germany. I also think it’s more intriguing emotionally. Some of the secrets are unlocked and some questions are answered.”
Of course, some of that comes from the nature of the genre. “A murder mystery is a puzzle, and we have for a long time liked a puzzle with a dead body,” Gatiss muses. “The key, though, is that it’s not just that. You can explore all kinds of things, as the show does. I’ve been very chuffed with the response to the lavender marriage, and the whole set-up of the show.”
In the first season, we discovered that Gatiss’s bookseller detective Gabriel Book is gay in 1946, when homosexuality was still illegal.
His marriage to his best friend Trottie (Polly Walker) is a mutually beneficial arrangement, but heading into season 2, it will also be a source of jeopardy.
“Their arrangement suits them both, but it’s not without its dangers,” Gatiss teases. “We’ll see a bit of that, and we do see a bit more of it fraying at the edges.”
As for the cases, viewers can expect to see a murder at a séance, a mystery in the world of off-Savile Row tailoring, and the aforementioned trip to Germany, which is set at Christmastime.
Yes, a chilly Christmas story in August. As we sweat our way through back-to-back heatwaves, that sounds like some serious counter-programming.
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Bookish returns in August on U&Alibi.
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