July 5, 2025
Discover our June cultural highlights. The best of television, books and podcasts.
Television
Gold series 2 BBC iPlayer
★★★★★
It may not strictly be accurate and there are some made up characters but Series 2 of the Brinks Matt robbery is as compelling as the first.
While many inventions and elisions done “for dramatic purposes” were not always clearly defined, Forsyth marshalled messy and complex information into a coherent whole that, across two series, remained resolutely faithful to the emotional truth of this story. This was not a lament for old-school white working-class criminality but its obituary, one that showed men who were almost immediately out of their depth in a world of international financial crime, lucre corrupting and twisting their lives out of shape. It was a moral story about the world and what it is to be human.
Dept Q Netflix
★★★★★
This starts in dramatic fashion as detective Carl Morck, excellently played by Matthew Goode, gets a young, uniformed officer killed, and his own partner paralysed by a bullet that then passes through Morck’s own neck, he is put on long-term leave and must wrestle, possibly for the first time in his egocentric life, with the idea of his mortality. This is accompanied with a rising guilt that he fights every step of the way; watching the latter perfuse his soul as the nine episodes unfold is at least as compelling as the dense, twisty, cleverly structured and hideous plot playing out above it.
After Morck reluctantly returns to work, he is put in charge of a new department—Q—and forms an unconventional team. Tasked with investigating cold cases to improve the police force’s image, the story quickly delves into missing jewellery, old assaults, rural and urban dangers, and institutional failures, highlighting the various hardships people inflict on each other. It is the characters and how they develop which makes this a compelling watch.
Stick Apple TV
★★★★☆
Sometimes you need some feelgood TV. No matter how far fetched it may be. It also helps when it stars Owen Wilson as a washed-up golf pro who discovers an adolescent prodigy, Santi and embarks on a road trip with Santi’s mother, his former caddy and a girl Santi meets on the way.
Just as Ted Lasso used football as a background to light-hearted storytelling, so does Stick and this really comes down to whether you are a sucker for the charming and eminently watchable, Wilson as he tries to find a purpose to his life lost since the death of his son. I am that sucker.
Sara: Woman in the Shadows Netflix
★★★★☆
This requires a certain amount of patience as a mother and former secret agent is forced back into action by the suspicious death of her son whom she abandoned and hasn’t seen for many years.
She also has to contend with a pregnant girlfriend and the suspicions of a former colleague. As she investigates a series of crimes that grows increasingly sinister, Sara is faced with a difficult question: how well did she really know her son? From grief to vengeance to sheer disbelief, this is an emotional rollercoaster that slowly unfolds.
Pale Mountains Ch4
★★★★★
These are feature-length episodes with a central story of resolving a decade old mystery of a serial killer (Il Mostro) and related stories in each episode.
The investigative team is comprised of Eva Kofler (Elena Radonicich), a highly capable yet relatively inexperienced prosecutor with complex connections to the legal system—her father previously served as chief prosecutor—and Paolo Costa (Matteo Martari), an experienced detective whose personal and professional life were profoundly affected by a serious car accident resulting in the loss of a limb. Kofler is noted for her analytical abilities, professionalism, and composed demeanor, while Costa brings a wealth of experience and intuition, alongside a more unconventional approach.
As Eva reopens a historical case following a murder that replicates Il Mostro’s methods, she uncovers evidence previously overlooked. What initially appears to be a standard cold-case investigation develops into a multifaceted narrative involving familial betrayal, systemic concealments, and broader social implications.
Pale Mountains stands out as a meticulously crafted crime drama, distinguished by its thoughtful pacing, emotional depth, and high production quality.
Film
F1
★★★★☆
It’s cheesy, macho and you know what’s going to happen. Don’t let that put you off because it’s great fun and you know what you are going to get with a Jerry Bruckheimer movie, gloss, lots of gloss. It’s also the best film Brad Pitt has been in for some while.
Pitt stars as Sonny Hayes, a once-promising driver who returns to racing after years away, following a career-ending crash and time spent as a gambler and taxi driver. Recruited by his former teammate Ruben (Javier Bardem), now a team owner, Sonny faces scepticism from the board and rivalry from young star Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). Despite doubts, Sonny brings fresh energy and unorthodox tactics to revive the struggling team.
Given the backing of F1 and with Lewis Hamilton as a producer, the film uses F1 scenarios, such as safety cars, to provide plausibility.
Books
Smoke and Embers John Lawton
★★★★☆
Smoke and Embers, the ninth Inspector Troy novel, is set in 1950 as Chief Inspector Troy investigates his boss’s affair with a woman linked to Otto Ohnherz, a West London crime figure. Ohnherz is involved with Jewish refugees and is supported by Jay Fabian, whose past as a concentration camp survivor is suspicious. The novel explores themes of identity and reinvention in post-WWII Europe through a complex, surprising plot.
This is the first Troy novel I’d read and on this evidence, I’ll be reading more.
No Small Thing Orlaine Mc Donald
★★★★★
The opening sets the tone for a novel told from the perspective of a grandmother, daughter and granddaughter all affected by the past. Livia, the grandmother, has been running from her past but must now face the daughter she left behind. Mickey, her daughter, is resentful about her mother’s departure and her father’s lack of effort to keep their family together yet finds herself needing Livia. Summer, the child, struggles with her new grandmother, her mother’s unpredictable moods, and changes in her life. Spanning a year, the novel explores themes of hope, loss, motherhood, and the impact of class and race through the intertwined lives of three generations.
What the Night Brings Mark Billingham
★★★★☆
We’ve waxed lyrical about Mark Bellingham and his Tom Thorne series and his latest is just as well constructed. A killer is targeting the police. Is it payback? And is it justified?
What the Night Brings is a timely novel exploring police corruption and its impact on both officers and the public. As Thorne’s force races to uncover wrongdoers within their ranks, Billingham balances serious subject matter with his signature witty banter.
Podcasts
All Played Out Various
★★★★☆
Whilst an interest in sport might draw you to this podcast, that many of the events evoke themes of racism, discrimination as well as heroic deeds makes it that much more. In the very capable hands of broadcast, Mark Pugatch, and acclaimed journalist, Paul Hayward, each episode offers so much more and there are some unusual ones such as why the Wooden Spoon? the reason why tennis players wear polo shirts and the ground that has hosted football, rugby and cricket internationals.
Half Life BBC Sounds
★★★☆☆
Joe Dunthorne set out to write a family history, starting with his great-grandfather Siegfried’s 2,000-page memoir. Instead of just finding details of their escape from Nazi Germany, he uncovered something more disturbing. This gripping podcast follows his journey to reconstruct an erased history.
Easy Money – The Charles Ponzi Story Various
★★★★☆
We’ve all heard of Ponzi schemes – the Bernie Madoff story being one of the most recent and this podcast tells the story of the originator. It’s part dramatization, part narration and part interviews. Initially Ponzi thought his plan was foolproof – to buy coupons overseas and redeem them for a minimal profit in America. That fals to materialise but by then he’s accepted investments and this ballons to a point where in today’s money he was raking in 6 million a week!
Do let us know if there is anything you have enjoyed recently.
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