We are very honoured at david-tennant.com to have been asked
to take part in the Broadchurch Beacon
Blogger Tour to celebrate the release of Broadchurch: The Official Novel this week.
Broadchurch
At the start of the summer season in the fictional Dorset
seaside town of Broadchurch, the body of eleven year old Danny Latimer is
discovered on the picturesque beach at the foot of the imposing cliffs. It’s
the beginning of a murder investigation, led by detectives Alec Hardy and Ellie
Miller, which threatens to tear the small community apart. So begins the TV
phenomenon that held the country gripped in spring 2013. Broadchurch: The Official Novel is adapted from the award-winning
ITV series and hits the shops on Thursday 14th August.
It’s a big ask to take a series as revered and beloved as hit
drama Broadchurch and turn it into a book that will do justice to the on-screen experience. But fans of the show can
rest assured. Series creator Chris Chibnall couldn’t have made a better choice when
he approached acclaimed thriller writer Erin Kelly to take on the task. The
author of The Poison Tree and The Sick Rose has embraced the emotional
narrative and the complex array of characters that populate the fictional
Dorset town and produced a story that leaps as expressively from the page as it
originally did from millions of TV screens.
Writing in the present tense, Ms. Kelly allows the narrative
a startling immediacy as first the shocking crime and then its after-effects
unfold before the reader. What’s more is that the novel gives the reader the
opportunity to experience events through the eyes of the protagonists and gain understanding
of their thoughts, reactions and motivations and to learn more about their
relationships to one another. Hardy’s underlying cynicism is underpinned by
more detail about his past, with tantalising glimpses of his estranged family.
Ellie’s initial irritation at the arrival of her new boss soon gives way to a
shift in perspective as she starts to see her town and neighbours through his
eyes. Seeing the murder of Danny from the viewpoint of his killer gives a chilling and uncomfortable closure. But the greatest insight is awarded to the character of Beth, Danny’s
mother, with whom we ride the tumbling, battering tidal wave of grief and her
struggle to accept that life for her, in so many ways, will never be the same
again.
For readers who have already seen the drama, the novelisation
has enough fresh insight to counter fears that its impact might be lessened through
foreknowledge of the ending. It is actually very satisfying to take the journey
to the big reveal again and pick out the clues that were missed first time
around. Furthermore there is previously unseen material which series devotees
will enjoy exploring, while the most emotional moments pull no less of a punch
on paper than they do on screen. New visitors to the world of Broadchurch will discover a beautifully
crafted traditional murder mystery with a fine array of well-realised suspects
and a flawed anti-hero in Hardy. Either way, Broadchurch: The Official Novel is nothing less than a moving,
thrilling and ultimately satisfying read. And it’s perfectly timed for the summer holiday season – just how many copies will be devoured beneath those iconic cliffs
this year?
A last minute note: Erin Kelly has just revealed that the
novel contains a cryptic clue to the second series of Broadchurch. So, for a mystery within the mystery look out for “...one
line quite early on in the book that won't make sense to anybody...” which Chris
Chibnall asked to be included in the final draft.
With many thanks to The Crime Vault and the Little, Brown
Book Group for inviting us to review the novel. We’re passing the Broadchurch
Blogging Beacon for tomorrow on to Crime Time who will be featuring an
exclusive guest blog by author Erin Kelly.
Broadchurch: The
Novel is released in the UK on Thursday 14th August
For the paperback and Kindle click here
For the audio download read by Carolyn Pickles (Maggie
Radcliffe) click here
About the authors
Chris Chibnall is
the creator, writer and executive producer of the award winning ITV drama, Broadchurch. He has also written for TV
shows including Life On Mars, Law
& Order:UK, Doctor Who and its spin-off, Torchwood. Chris's latest BBC1
drama, The Great Train Robbery,
tells the story of the infamous 1963 British heist. He lives in Dorset with his
family.
Erin Kelly is
the author of the critically acclaimed psychological thrillers, The Poison Tree, The Sick Rose, The
Burning Air and The Ties
That Bind. The Poison Tree was
a bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club selection in 2010 and was adapted
for the screen as a major ITV drama in 2012. Erin also works as a freelance
journalist, writing for newspapers including The Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph and the Daily Mail as well as magazines including Red, Psychologies, Marie Claire and Elle. She lives in London with her
family.
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