What we’re watching
We’re into the second series of Trigger Point (ITV) and absolutely hooked.
Vicky McClure is mesmerising in this drama about a police bomb disposal team in London. As Lana Washington, she’s cool, complicated, flawed, tormented by the past and bloody brilliant at her job.
The first series just flew by and now we’re settling down for a bumpy ride.
Hats off to creator and writer Daniel Brierley, who was mentored by Line of Duty‘s Jed Mercurio. Brierley was new to television and developed the series during a television bursary scheme.
It’s real edge of your seat stuff. Awards await.
We’ve just seen the film Napoleon, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Joaquin Phoenix as the titular character. It’s long and patchy and, a bit like the curate’s egg, good in parts.
The battle scenes, particularly the deadly icy ballet at Austerlitz and the finale at Waterloo, are choreographed to a nanosecond. They are incredible to watch (albeit, in my case, through closed fingers).
Phoenix is a compelling Napoleon, a relentless genius obsessed by power, his love for his country and the resourceful Josephine (Vanessa Kirby, who played Princess Margaret in The Crown). He’s steely, creepy and a little unhinged, like The Joker, Commodus and the Emperor of France all rolled into one.
What I’m reading
I’ve got my hands on a review copy of The Ministry of Time and I can’t put it down. I also can’t believe it’s a debut novel.
Kaliane Bradley has written a piece of fiction which cuts across genres – time travel, romance, comedy and spy thriller – and it’s a cracker. It’s out later this year.
Set in the near future, at the centre of the story is a nameless protagonist, a civil servant who has to act as a ‘bridge’ between her charge, naval officer Graham Gore, who was First Lieutenant on the Erebus during the Franklin expedition to discover the Northwest Passage, which ended in 1850 with the loss of all 129 officers and crewmen.
The book twists and turns with a style so easy to read I’ll probably finish it by the end of the week. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance review copy of the book.
Maddie Grigg 