You are wrongfully accused of murder! Which of these detective girlies are you trusting to solve the case, before either you go to prison, anyone else dies, or anything else bad happens?
What's so wild about Vera as a show is that it has so many interesting dynamics. And Vera is just so...frumpy and gets to just unapologetically be an older woman who has zero interest in her appearance. And yet she is a BELOVED and I mean BELOVED character because she is just such a interesting character. And incredibly well fleshed out. And because they do that with every character, their dynamics are able to develop into such rich and interesting relationships. Which is what allows them to have such an engaged fandom with so many loved pairings. All without sacrificing the things that make up a good murder mystery,
Here's a masterlist of all my fics on AO3 in one handy place! hope you enjoy! Fandoms covered include Midsomer Murders, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ITV Vera, Father Brown, Doctor Who, Suicide Squad and various MCU projects.
Elementary - Aroallo!OC
Case fic following the TV series
Sera (in progress!)
Father Brown - Hercule Flambeau x OC
Plus platonic relationships with the whole gang ofc.
Deliver Us From Evil |1| The Kembleford Mysteries (in progress!)
Suicide Squad - Rick Flag x Vampire!OC
Also Rick Flag x June Moone x Vampire!OC
The Lunar Tide |1| Lost Eulogies (in progress!)
Midsomer Murders - Ben Jones x Detective!OC
Plus platonic relationships with Tom, Gavin, Cully and basically everyone else haha.
Midsomer Maiden |1| The Trials of Midsomer (370k words)
Midsomer Masquerade |2| The Trials of Midsomer (in progress!)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Superpowered!OC & Dad!Coulson
Blood of the Covenant |1| The Dark Waters Series (190k)
Water of the Womb |2| The Dark Waters Series (in progress!)
ITV Vera - Detective!OC & Joe Ashworth, Detective!OC & Vera Stanhope
Angel of the North |1| The Summer Files (310k)
Doctor Who & MCU Crossover - The Doctor x OC
Watch Us Run |1| The Ascension (in progress!)
This one will be slow updates as I'm uploading it part by part to AO3 as I edit and improve the original version I published on Wattpad from years back. So you can look me up as thedoctorcried on there if you can't wait for the rest - there's over a million words currently published haha
Captain America & Other MCU Projects - Bucky Barnes x German!OC
new(ish) murder mysteries you should get britbox for:
#1: Ludwig
A detective inspector goes missing while investigating what appears to be corruption, and his autistic brother must assume his identity in order to finish the case. This show weaves in the major mystery with the murder of the day so well, and each character is very compelling. The scenes are beautiful, the casting is perfect, and it’s one of the most well-written murder mysteries to come out of the last ten years (in my opinion). Delightful, intelligent, and engaging.
#2: Death Valley
A quirky, of-putting detective befriends her favorite retired actor to solve crimes. She is a chaotic mess, and he is melodramatic and observant. Together they bicker and catch killers incredibly fast. Death Valley is heart-warming and funny, and the dialogue leaves me in stitches. Janie Mallowan is of my all-time favorite female TV characters.
#3: McDonald and Dodds
As the police force tries to move a detective to retirement, he befriends a younger DI who is his polar opposite in every way. They become each other’s ride-or-die. When I watched the first episode of McDonald and Dodds, I was flabbergasted. I laughed, cried, and realized that a new era of quality British mysteries had begun. This show makes you fall in love both with the wholesome Dodds and high-strung McDonald for completely different reasons.
#4: Vera
A seasoned DI moves back to her hometown to solve murders that appears simple on the surface, but become more and more complex. Why. Is. No. One. Talking. About This. Show.??!! The locations are gorgeous, and each episode is slow to reveal the timeline before a victim’s death piece by piece. There is virtually no interpersonal drama (which is exactly my style). The personality of the main detective is pretty hysterical at times, and her team work tirelessly. It’s incredibly well-shot and well-written.
#5: The Cleaner
A crime scene cleaner stumbles upon insane stories that would send an average person into a coma. Our list takes a turn here, because The Cleaner is completely different from every other murder mystery I’ve ever seen. Wicky doesn’t solve the crimes, but ends up being a victim after the fact. It’s wild, hysterical, and unexpected in the best ways.
#6: Law and Order UK
The title says it all: Law and Order, but with more rain. Personally, I love the pacing of this one. While it retains much of the style of the OG show, it’s a bit more artistic and dramatic. It feels more like a classic murder mystery, and you connect with the characters from the get-go. Obviously the cases can be very heavy, but the routine of it is comforting.
#7: The Mallorca Files
Ah yes, the classic: autistic blond woman with her bimbo type B boyfriend who solve mysteries. I love this show for the characters’ dynamic. The mysteries are good, but their chemistry on set really sells it the show. One of my favorite on-screen pairings!
#8: Wild Bill
In a town where corruption and crime are running rampant, a violently American jerk who has a very dysfunctional relationship with his teen daughter takes over the police force. Do I like this because I watch it with my dad and we sometimes relate too much? Possibly. But I also watch it for DI Yeardsley: a farm girl who is smarter than everyone else on the whole force.
IN CONCLUSION: the Brits are putting out some heavy-hitters. I haven’t seen this much good mystery content since America in the 2000s.
