Telemystery, your source for one of the most comprehensive listings of crime drama, amateur sleuth, private investigator, mystery and suspense television series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available on or coming soon to DVD, Blu-ray disc, or Video-on-Demand, is profiling four series from our site being released this week.
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DCI Banks
Season Four
English detective DCI Alan Banks (Stephen Tompkinson) returns in this fourth season of the popular crime drama with three new, original stories.
In "What Will Survive", DCI Banks struggles to cope with the sudden death of his mother, as he investigates the murder of a young Estonian woman and the disappearance of her drug-dependent sister.
In "Buried", Banks must navigate difficult emotional territory when the body of an eminent lawyer is washed up in an underground river and he suspects a member of her grieving family is responsible for her death.
In "Ghosts", the body of a university student is found dumped in a ravine. His friends claim he was a model undergraduate, but officers Annie and Ken soon discover that he had a double life manufacturing ecstasy.
Detective Montalbano
Episodes 25-26
Murder, betrayal, office politics, temptation … it's all in a day's work for Detective Salvo Montalbano (Luca Zingaretti). With intuition and a cadre of police officers, Montalbano solves crimes in the fictional small city of Vigata. This work brings him across the paths of unforgettable characters who could only come from Sicily. He also wages a personal war with his own demons, which fight against his professional ideals and personal commitment to beautiful long-distance girlfriend, Livia. Yet theres always time to indulge a long-standing flirtation with his ultimate temptress, Italian cuisine. The series is filmed in the ancient, sun-washed Sicilian city of Ragusa, and is based on the mystery novels by Andrea Camilleri. In Italian with English subtitles.
"A Delicate Matter": On his way to a vacation, Montalbano ends up working on two very different cases. One concerns the murder of a well-loved 70-year-old woman who worked as a prostitute, and the other is an accusation of molestation at a school. The latter case he handles with discretion, and he also manages to finally identify the womans assassin.
"The Mud Pyramid": In his investigation of the murder of an accountant and the attempted murder of a bricklayer, Montalbano discovers a ring of corruption between construction companies and the Mafia. With acumen and courage he penetrates the impregnable mud pyramid and attempts to bring down the elaborate organization once and for all.
Vera
Set Six
Brenda Blethyn stars as Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope in this mystery series inspired by the novels of Ann Cleeves. Amidst the sweeping landscapes of rural Northumberland, Vera and her assistant, Detective Sergeant Aiden Healy (Kenny Doughty), confront brutal crimes that challenge even Vera’s genius for solving cases.
This season Vera and Aiden investigate the deaths of a woman found on the moors, a young man who worked at a traveling fairground, a fisherman pulled from the sea, and a mysterious double murder.
Young Montalbano
Episodes 7-9
Before Detective Salvo Montalbano became the seasoned and mature chief detective we already know, he was just Salvo (played by Michele Riondino), new to Vigata and new to being a police chief. He didnt always live in that glorious house by the sea, or have Deputy Chief Mimi Augello as a best friend, or Fazio as a loyal assistant. He didnt always go out with the beautiful Genoese architect, Livia Burlando. Perhaps the only constants have been his unbridled quest for good food and the inability of his overly enthusiastic deputy, Catarella, to pronounce anyones name correctly.
In this prequel series to Detective Montalbano, watch the genesis of the friendships, the rivalries and the romance as the players arrive to take their places in the beautiful Sicilian town of Vigata. In Italian with English subtitles.
"The Man Who Followed Funerals": A man respected by all, who for years has shown up as a mourner at the funerals of strangers, is found brutally murdered in the street. His death seems inexplicable, until the disappearance of a woman linked to his former employer gives Montalbano his first lead. Meanwhile, Livia has come to visit, but her behavior is erratic and Salvo starts to suspect that something may be wrong.
"Room Number Two": A fire at a local hotel results in a man's death and is suspected to have been arson. Shortly after the fire, an anonymous letter arrives at headquarters, warning of the impending murder of a married woman at the hands of her jealous husband. A hunch leads Montalbano to search for a link between the seemingly disparate events.
"Death on the High Seas": Montalbano investigates the seemingly accidental killing of a fisherman aboard a Vigata fishing boat and uncovers far-reaching criminal activity. During the investigation, Fazio seems distracted and Montalbano soon discovers that the young policeman has become involved in protecting a local family from death threats during his spare time.
Young Montalbano
Episodes 10-12
"The Settlement": It's hardly been a month since Livia and Salvo decided to spend some time apart, and Salvo feels bereft and melancholy. Meanwhile, he applies himself to the case of a retired, well-respected doctor who was found murdered in his own home. The resulting investigation highlights Montalbano's personal dilemmas about the complexities of love.
"The Honest Thief": Salvo requests a transfer to Genoa so that he can be closer to Livia, but it's clear that leaving his beloved Sicily is more challenging than he realized. While his move is under way, Montalbano tries to locate a missing woman at the same time he investigates a series of unusual burglaries, in which the victims report the theft of very small amounts of money.
"An Apricot": Just as he's about to leave Sicily, Montalbano finds himself drawn into one last case. A young woman has been found dead at the bottom of a cliff, in what appears to have been a tragic accident. The evidence doesn't add up, however, and despite Mimi's readiness to go for an easy conclusion, Montalbano remains convinced that the truth has still escaped them.
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