Welsh Noir Alive & Kicking
Forget Scandi noir the home of dark drama is still Wales.
Whether you’re a TV addict, a bookworm or both, there is so much quality crime drama coming out of the Principality at the moment that you’d be hard-pressed to watch or read it all.
And as our media consumption habits are changing so fast perhaps now is a great time to recap on all the great stories available to us. Netflix, Amazon Prime and even the out-of-touch BBC are awash with great series with a Welsh twist.
Requiem, from early 2018, follows cellist Matilda Gray as she attempts to solve the mystery of her childhood. After her mother’s death, Matilda suspects she’s connected to Welsh toddler Carys Howell, who went missing in the 90s. Her return to Penllynith, to discover the truth, is more sinister than she ever imagined.
Hidden, has Sian Reese-Williams playing DI Cadi John who investigates the abduction of a young woman reported missing several years earlier. This claustrophobic drama would be tense even without the threatening backdrop of a grey and stormy north Wales.
Keeping Faith, has probably had the most success and while Eve Myles as solicitor Faith Howells is as sexy as ever while she investigates the disappearance of her husband it is her trademark yellow coat that viewers remember most.
Hinterland, has Richard Harrington playing tortured, brooding cop DCI Tom Mathias as he wanders around the beautiful, eerie Ceredigion landscape. A great cast and refreshing to see the English version of this Welsh language series has subtitles dropped in for some characters, which gives it a more realistic edge over the other dramas.
And if TV isn’t your thing then why not grab a Cymru noir novel? There are plenty to choose from and more being released all the time. Established writers like Katherine John and Bernard Knight have been producing quality crime thrillers for years but there are plenty of others of course.
Malcolm Pryce, dubbed the king of Welsh noir, has, for years done a Raymond Chandler on Aberystwyth. His rainswept vision of the streets of the Welsh seaside resort and university town are laugh out loud funny as hero private investigator Louie Knight battles druids and the like.
Pontypridd’s Dave Lewis broadened our horizons with his Hagar Trilogy. Three sexy techno-thrillers, way superior to the Stig Larsson’s efforts, that took us from our capital city to East Africa and back again.
Then there is the gritty Cardiff Trilogy from journalist John Williams. Set in the real Cardiff, around the time of the Bay development, prostitutes roam the streets and men spend their days in seedy bars. Although fiction, there is a lot of truth in here too.
I mentioned Katherine John earlier, the alto-ego of famous historical fiction writer Catrin Collier. She is one of the only recent Welsh writers who has bridged the gap between novel and film in the streaming age. Her thriller, By Any Name was turned into a film and can be found on Amazon Prime.
There are many other good authors who deserve a mention but I’ll leave you with the best book I’ve read in a long time and one that just has to be seen on the big screen. The Welsh Man by Dave Lewis again — the most real book about modern Wales as you’ve ever likely to read. Simply stunning.
