4*’s
This will be a short review of what is essentially a bit of background to Broadchurch Season Two. There is one short story released at midnight following the airing of each of the eight weekly episodes and this is the first.
Having missed the first series of what was a ‘must-watch’ show I caught up with this via Erin Kelly’s book from series one of the ITV Television series simply named Broadchurch. I loved the book so much that I then watched the series to compare and contrast the book and the series and came to the conclusion that each medium had their merits, of course the mystery wasn’t as great while watching this on TV since I knew what had happened, but I am very fond of David Tennant and there was plenty to absorb with the character interactions to make that more or less irrelevant. So I was ready and waiting at 9:00pm on Monday night and watched the first episode of the second series and wow.. I wasn’t expecting that.
I’m not usually gullible especially where marketing is concerned but when I saw that each episode had a book well surprise surprise, I couldn’t resist, particularly as once again this has been penned by Erin Kelly who is one of my favourite authors (but maybe I’d prefer her to write another great book like The Burning Air)
This episode covers what happens to Ellie Miller when she leaves Broadchurch following the end of series one. There was nothing in this story that appeared the first episode but it does serve to give us some background into Ellie’s life since the uncovering of the murderer; her feelings, her life in a new place, her job serving for a different police force and her hopes for the future. I wonder if the other books will cover the background of the other characters or whether they will follow a different format.
An engaging read that is a useful addition for ardent fans of the show this short story was well worth the 99p that I spent on it despite the fact it is only 17 pages long and I just know that I’m going to have to read the other seven that will appear.
Did you watch on Monday? What do you think about having books, albeit short ones, to accompany the series?
Cleopatra Loves Books 
I watched the show Tuesday Morning and loved it. I didn’t realise there were books to go along with the episodes though until I read it on Twitter. A great marketing tool! And a great writer doing the shorts. I’m sure they will sell in their thousands.
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It was good to get a bit of background to Ellie’s life since series one, as you say it is a great marketing tool…
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Lovely read! Just wrote a review on Albert Camus’s The Sea Close By. You may want to check it out : )
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I always think it’s interesting when books are written as companions to television shows. I’m glad you enjoyed this story, Cleo. I hope Broadchurch comes my way at some point.
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It’s the first time I’ve come across this way of tying in the books and the show although I have the first book that accompanies Castle (another favourite of mine) which are the books that Richard Castle wrote while shadowing the NYPD.
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For some reason I never got around to watching the first series – I really must look out for it.
The stories are probably quite fun to go along with the series, but I must say my cynical nature makes me raise my eyebrows at the thought of 99p for 17 pages – eight times! I actually kinda fell out of love with Stuart MacBride when he produced a series called the Twelve Days of Christmas a few years back – each one was only a few pages, not particularly special, and then a sample chapter of his next book. I felt he was taking advantage of his loyal fans…
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If I’m honest I quibbled and then decided that I pay 99p for things that give far less enjoyment and decided not to brood…. I’ll be interested to see how the momentum is kept up with these shorts.
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Oh, I didn’t know about this. I knew the second series was coming up but not about the novellas and whatnot. I loved the first season of Broadchurch and I can’t wait for the second – I think it comes out in March or so for the U.S. however.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com
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It is quite a neat idea and I like the fact that these shorts add something that we don’t get to see in the series but yet adds some understanding to what has gone before….
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My husband watched the season of the murder of the young boy. He really liked it.
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Yes it was really good, this is now the follow up which has been shrouded in mystery – we had the first episode Monday in the UK, I think it is due in March in the US.
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