DOWN CEMETERY ROAD, Apple TV+ series based on a Mick Herron novel

Emma Thompson stars in Down Cemetery Road, an 8-Part Mystery Thriller, that debuts tomorrow night on AppleTV+. 

This 8-episode thriller starts Wednesday, October 29 with two episodes, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through December 10. 

Down Cemetery Road is adapted from by Mick Herron's novel of the same name. Herron is the CWA Diamond Dagger Award winner whose Slough House novels were adapted into the award winning Slow Horses series. 

The storyline of Down Cemetery Road follows Thompson as a  private investigator pulled out of near-retirement when a teenage girl vanishes from a quiet Oxford suburb. What begins as a domestic disappearance rapidly changes into a conspiracy rooted in the university’s inner sanctums — power, secrecy, old money, and the brutal machinery that protects them. Thompson is joined by Ruth Wilson, who plays a morally ambiguous academic with ties to the missing student. 

Can't wait! More to come after I've seen the first two episodes. Let me know what you think, too!

 

Slow Horses, Season 5

Slow Horses, based on Mick Herron's Slough House series, Season 5, is now available on Apple TV+. What a great show! This amazing spy drama follows a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents--and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman)--as they navigate the espionage works smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.The show is filled with humor, as well as gore. It's topnotch!

If you're new to the series, you'll want to start with Season 1. And be sure to read Mick Herron's Slough House Thrillers. They're great. He is such a terrific writer. 

Watch the trailer!

CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger 2025

The British Crime Writers’ Association awarded the 2025 Cartier Diamond Dagger to Mick Herron. Congratulations, Mick!

Mick Herron is the author of the Slough House series and other mystery and thriller novels.

A CWA press release explains that this prize “recognises authors whose crime writing careers have been marked by sustained excellence, and who have made a significant contribution to the genre.” Herron is quoted as saying: “I’ve spent the best part of my life—not the majority of it; just the best part—in the crime writers’ community, and to receive this accolade from these friends and colleagues is both a career highlight and a personal joy. I’m touched and thrilled beyond measure, and will try to live up to the honour.” 

Past Diamond Dagger honorees include Ian Rankin, Lynda La Plante, Walter Mosley, Ann Cleeves, Andrew Taylor, Lindsey Davis, Michael Connelly, Val McDermid, and John le Carré.

HT: The Rap Sheet

SLOW HORSES RENEWED FOR SEASON 5

Well, this is great news. Slow Horses, based on my favorite espionage series by Mick Herron, will be renewed for a 5th season, on AppleTV+. This was confirmed by Variety, and everyone else! If you haven't seen Slow Horses, you have plenty of time and great streaming ahead of you. Seasons 1-3 are on AppleTV+ now. Season 4 will be released in November 2024, so it will be awhile before we get Season 5, but still, it's great it's being produced. I  encourage you to read Mick Herron's books in the meantime. 

From Variety:

 
Gary Oldman, who recently earned a Golden Globe nod for his performance in the show as irascible spook Jackson Lamb, will return alongside Kristin Scott Thomas, who plays MI5 second desk Diana Taverner, Jack Lowden as espionage nepo baby River Cartwright and Christopher Chung as cocky geek Roddy Ho.

“Everyone is suspicious when resident tech nerd Roddy Ho has a glamorous new girlfriend, but when a series of increasingly bizarre events occur across the city, it falls to the Slow Horses to work out how everything is connected,” reads the logline for Season 5. “After all, Jackson Lamb knows that in the world of espionage, ‘London Rules’ should always apply.”

Season 5 is set to be adapted from the fifth book in Herron’s series, “London Rules.” 

SLOW HORSES: SEASON 3

So many great season premieres and specials this month and the end of last month that I neglected to mention that the third season of Slow Horses on AppleTV+ has arrived. Slow Horses is a fabulous spy thriller based on Mick Herron's terrific thrillers. Slow Horses is the name for a group of disgraced intelligence agents who have been banished from proper field work in Regent's Park. They have been downgraded to menial labor (Slow Horses). The third season is the best yet, as the team tries to locate one of their own. 

I love a good espionage thriller, and Slow Horses is truly one of the best shows out there. Great acting. Wonderful plots. Comedic elements. Quirky Characters. 

Be sure and add it to your TBW (To Be Watched) List! If you haven't watched the show before, start with Season 1. It's still available on AppleTV+.

Here's the Trailer for Season 3. 

SLOW HORSES, SEASON 3: November 29

Slow Horses, Season 3, based on Mick Herron's Slough House mysteries, debuted last night, November 29, on Apple TV+. 

Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, the unpleasant dissolved head of a group of dejected British spies. His band of spooks are called Slow Horses because they've messed up their careers in a variety of ways. Lamb always reinforces their failures. 

Read the Review on NPR

I missed the first episode of Season 3 because I was watching the first episode of Shetland, Season 8. So many great seasons premiering this month and next. 

I highly recommend you read Mick Herron's Slough Mysteries. They're great. Terrific writing, fabulous characters, and great plots. Read them in order. 

Let me know what you think of Slow Horses, the TV series.

SLOW HORSES Second Season News & Trailer

Slow Horses Season 2 has a release date! Friday, December 2, Apple TV+ This is a great series, and if you haven't read the books yet, get started! Mick Herron is a terrific writer. 

Just an FYI, Season 2 was filmed immediately after Season 1, so that's why there's such a quick turn around time, in case you were wondering. This terrific series is on Apple TV+. 

Season 2 is based on Mick Herron's second book in the series, Dead Lions. Mick Herron, interviewed by Radio Times, tells us that there are changes in the second season, but that's he's happy for the series to deviate from his novels as long as it's in line with the characters and tone.

The show's Third and Fourth seasons are expected to adapt Real Tigers and Spook Street.

Slow Horses Season 2 will debut on Apple TV+ Friday, December 2.

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year

Mick Herron’s Slough House (John Murray) won the 2022 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. It was  announced last night during the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, England.

Also nominated were The Night Hawks, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus); True Crime Story, by Joseph Knox (Penguin); Daughters of Night, by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Pan); Midnight at Malabar House, by Vaseem Khan (Hodder Paperbacks); and The Last Thing to Burn, by Will Dean (Hodder Paperbacks).

Michael Connelly was presented with the 2022 Theakston Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award.

HT: TheRapSheet

Mick Herron's Slow Horses on AppleTV+: April 1

Apple TV+  announced today the premiere date and first look at the espionage series “Slow Horses,” starring Academy Award winner Gary Oldman, which will make its worldwide debut on Friday, April 1, 2022. The six-episode drama, adapted from CWA Gold Dagger Award-winning Mick Herron’s first novel in the "Slow Horses” series, will premiere globally on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday.

“Slow Horses” follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 – Slough House. Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but irascible leader of the spies who end up in Slough House due to their career-ending mistakes. Joining Oldman is a decorated ensemble cast including Academy Award nominee Kristin Scott Thomas (“Darkest Hour”), Academy Award nominee Jonathan Pryce (“The Two Popes”), BAFTA Scotland Award winner Jack Lowden (“Dunkirk”), and Olivia Cooke (“Sound of Metal”).

The series is produced for Apple by See-Saw Films and adapted for television by Will Smith (“Veep”). Graham Yost executive produces alongside Smith. Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gail Mutrux and Douglas Urbanski also serve as executive producers on the series. James Hawes directs all six episodes and executive produces.

LEFT COAST CRIME 2021: ALBUQUERQUE, NM

Registration Open for Left Coast Crime 2021: Albuquerque, New Mexico
 

Registration is now open for LCC 2021 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 8-11, 2021. Registration includes a Welcome Reception, two special Breakfasts, the Awards Banquet, and admission to all panels and interviews. The early registration fee of $195 extends through March 15, 2020, the close of LCC San Diego.

Online Registration for LCC 2021 Albuquerque
 

Hyatt Regency Albuquerque

Located in downtown Albuquerque, the hotel’s rooms provide beautiful views of the mountains and the city. At 20 stories, the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque is the 2nd tallest building in the state of New Mexico! Albuquerque has a high desert climate — in April, the average temperature is 68°/42° with very low humidity. Albuquerque’s elevation is 5,312 feet. Our convention rate of $134 is also available three days before and after the convention if registrants choose to extend their stay and explore Albuquerque. Registrants will receive the hotel code when reservations open in early April 2020.
 
More information about LCC 2021