Rome, City of Espionage

I thought I would blog another entry in my City of Espionage series which I started earlier this year. And I thought of a city that is ancient, central to many, many, many dramatic stories, real or fictitious, but seldom seen in spy thrillers, as far as I know. I'm speaking of course of Rome. Ironic, since it used to be the centre of the world, the capital of the world in fact, at least the Western world. Ancient Rome had its informal spy network(s). Modern Rome, capital city of Italy, its largest city too, where state, must be, I'd imagine, an important focal point of espionage. I only remember seeing the city featured in Spectre. Tell me if other spy films, TV series or books have Rome as their setting. I guess we associate Italy with organised crime nowadays, not secret agents. Nevertheless, I think Rome deserves to be recognised as a modern City of Espionage.

The Night Agent Will Return

A bit of news for those who love spy thrillers. In recent years, I have increased my consumption of this particular genre, as you can witness if you have been reading this blog. Anyway, as you may know, I really enjoyed the Netflix series The Night Agent, based on a novel by Matthew Quirk, which I haven't read yet (but I have promised to get my hands on it). Anyway, while the TV series is far from perfect, it's still solid entertainment and it is quite suspenseful. And I'm a sucker for a good spy thriller, even when it gets a bit cliché at times. So I learned that the fourth and last season is in preparation, filming has started and will be released at some point in 2027. Something to look forward to next year.

"Merci pour les raisins" (Chanson de l'Action de grâce)

C'est le lundi de l'Action de grâce au Québec. Pas ici, ils ne fêtent pas ça. Mais, tradition oblige, je partage un classique instantané de La fin du monde est à 7 heures. La meilleure chanson de toute l'émission? Je serais tenté de dire que oui, ex aequo avec Allons tous à Jérusalem. Quand ils faisaient de la dévotion moqueuse, leur équipe était à leur meilleur.

Archive 81

Okay, I am blogging a lot today, so this is my second post in English for the countdown to Halloween. The first one is here, and I have two more in French. I have a lot to blog about and so little time. Anyway, for those who have some time and like to watch more cerebral horror, I have a suggestion: Archive 81. It's a TV series on Netflix of eight episodes, slow pace (in the best way), very atmospheric and has very Lovecraftian influences. It also draws strongly on Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist. It's about Dan Turner, a conservator who is asked to restore tapes that have been damaged in the 1994 fire of an apartment building in New York called the Visser. The tapes have been made by Melody, a grad student doing a documentary project who disappeared in the fire. So we follow both Dan's and Melody's investigation, which reveals a cult, some very unsettling characters and maybe a demonic entity. I don't want to give more away, but what I love about it is how you are drawn into the story. It's deeply unsettling diabolically efficient. It's so far my best horror discovery this year and I strongly recommend it.

Fauda Very Soon

You know I am a big fan of the Israeli crime/spy/action thriller series Fauda,for many, many reasons. It has gripping drama, it's very realistic, directed soberly, without the budgets of Hollywood, but with a quasi documentary style that makes it feel genuine. It's also full of atmosphere, and as a bonus, Krav Maga is often depicted, which makes it so very cool. Anyway, this post is a reminder, if there are fans of the series among my readers, or if you are curious about it: the new season will start on the 8th of September on Netflix. I cannot stress how good Fauda is.

Devil's Peak's sequels?

So as I mentioned last Wednesday, I found on Channel 4 the TV series adaptation of Deon Meyer's Devil's Peak. And I binge watched it from Wednesday until tonight. As you can guess, I was thoroughly entertained and enjoyed it a lot. I recommend it. It's substantially different from the original novel, but it is faithful to its spirit. And it keeps you hooked until the last minute. Better still: I won't give anything away, but there is a sequel hook, so I think there might be more seasons. In the original, the characters of Bennie Griessel and Thobela Mpayipheli show up in future novels, so there is more source material to work on. I hope to see more.

Finding Devil's Peak

I have some good news for crime fiction aficionados living in the UK, especially if you love South Africa and its culture(s). It's good news for me anyway. So you may remember that I was looking for the TV series adaptation of Deon Meyer's Devil's Peak.Well, it's been released on Channel 4. So I started watching it today. So far, so great, although it's freely adapted from the novel. But it's quite gripping. Of course it's not exactly like I imagined it, but I can have a better picture of the novels' setting. Anyway, in any case, I'm so very glad I can finally watch it. I was getting desperate.

Fauda in September

This is a quick post to give you a bit of cool news for amateurs of spy and crime drama (and an even cooler news for people who like Krav Maga and like to see it and violence in general depicted realistically). So Israeli actor Lior Raz recently announced that season five of the thriller series Fauda, was meant to start on the 8th of September of Netflix. Seriously, it's the best thriller series on Netflix, bare none. It's my favourite anyway. I am so looking forward to it and I recommend that you watch it. It's suspenseful, it's gripping, it's brutal, it's so believable, it's absolutely beautiful.

A Ragtag Bunch of Misfits

Anybody in for a bit of trope talk? Here is one I am pretty fond of. You ever heard of a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits? Briefly, it's a team of heroes or protagonists made of heteroclite, mismatched members, some professional, some experts, but some not, with different backgrounds and conflicting personalities. It's often used in sci-fi adventures and in fantasies, I'm sure you can think of a lot of titles that use this trope, but it works for all genres and I particularly enjoy it in crime fiction, sometimes even in spy thrillers. And, I might add, sometimes the best of the genre: the Major Crimes Unit in The Wire is made of a ragtag bunch of misfits. They gather a bunch of cops from various departments, some (real or perceived) humps, some mavericks, into one unit to wrap up a hot potato case, they end up showing to be the best of the best. They're also great in heist stories. This trope makes for great character interaction. I use it in my own writing, because I love it so much.

Berlin, City of Espionage

This is a new post in my City of Espionage series started in February this year, about cities associated with espionage, in history and fiction. And today, I blog about Berlin, a city I haven't visited yet. Berlin has been a centre for espionage for centuries, since at least the first two world wars, then the Cold War and is still now. I have seen it featured in a few spy thrillers through the years, you must have too. More recently, it was the main setting of Netflix spy thriller Unfamiliar, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I posted about it here. I might post more on the series, but I digress. I don't know if and when I will visit Berlin, but I'm sure I will see the city in the other seasons of Unfamiliar, if there are any, or in other stories.

To Watch The Invisible

I have some exciting (yet somewhat frustrating) crime fiction news. Yopu may remember that back in August 2025 I mentioned that South African crime writer Deon Meyer's novel Blood Safari, which I reread late last year and early this year, was being adapted into a TV series. It was being retitled The Invisible. Or Invisible, I'm not sure, I have seen both. Anyway, I have recently seen the trailer on social media. And it looks really exciting. The only problem is: I have no idea where, if anywhere, it will be available to watch in the UK. Story of my life for any adaptations of Meyer novels, and there are quite a few. Anyway, that's my new crime fiction aficionado mission: finding a streaming service where I can watch it.

More Man on Fire?

 So I blogged last month about Man on Fire. It's a Netflix spy thriller series freely adapted from a novel by A.J. Quinnell. The book was also made into a movie about twenty years ago. Anyway, I finished watching the series and, while I don't think it's the greatest TV series of its genre, I was thoroughly entertained and it was solid. And I suspect (and hope) there will be more of it. Like many spy thrillers based on a novel, they decided to carry on the story when the source material finishes. Man on Fire ends with a sequel hook. So I guess if the series is a success (I have no idea how popular it is, streaming can be tricky), there will be more seasons commissioned. I sure hope so.

Man On Fire

 Well, here I am, plugging another spy thriller, and another Netflix series. This time it's Man on Fire. I started it very recently, so I'm not sure if the series will hold on, but so far so good. It's about a former CIA operative who has to protect the orphaned daughter of his assassinated mentor from terrorists. It's set in Brazil and, like I said, so far so good. Nothing terribly original, but nothing horrible either, the plot keeps me invested in it. I know it's freely adapted from a novel from A.J. Quinnell and that it was already adapted in a 2004 movie, which I haven't seen, so the story is all new to me. If I am still satisfied when I finish it, I might buy the novel. Anyway, if you read the source material, or watched any of its adaptations, let me know in the comments. Please no spoilers.

Looking for Devil's Peak

You may remember that I have been desperately looking for the TV series adaptation of Deon Meyer's Devil's Peak. I love his crime thrillers and of course I want to see all the adaptations of his work on the screen, whether they are movies or series. South Africa is such a great atmospheric setting for crime dramas and seeing it on screen adds a new perspective to the experience, like an extra layer. I thought it would screen on the BBC, eventually, but apparently it never did. I recently did a Google search and thought I could find it on Tubi, but again, no: it's available in the US and Canada, but not in the UK. I have started to wonder whether I should just subscribe to a streaming service that has it.

Glock (Signature Weapon)

This is a new post in my Signature Weapons series, about weapons that say something about the characters using them, especially but not exclusively in crime fiction. So today I am blogging about the Glock. This is the very first firearm of the series. And before I go further, a disclaimer: I know almost nothing of firearms, I'm not a gun enthusiast by any stretch of the imagination, I don't have a gun fetish either, so I am writing this as a complete outsider, but as an aspiring crime fiction writer. Now, I find Glocks interesting for a number of reasons: thematically, symbolically and practically. First, it is the service weapon of many police forces in the world, including the SQ (Sûreté du Québec). So this is often the weapon of choice of my characters. According to the TV Tropes entry on handguns, it has the reputation of being the boring but practical gun of all boring, but practical guns. It's reliable without being flashy. Also, it's an Austrian weapon, and the name is very close to the German Glocke, which means bell. I find it ironic that a weapon is thus linked to something often seen as delicate and playful, used to produce music. And yes, I am working to use this double entendre in couple of stories.

Legends

 I found another great crime series on Netflix and I wanted to share it/plug it here: Legends. It's both a crime drama and a true crime documentary, as it is based on true events: the heroin trade of the early nineties in the UK and the combat against it by a team formed by border officers. A ragtag bunch of misfits as the trope is called. I love ragtags bunch of misfits, especially in crime fiction, even more when they had an origin in real life. I might blog about the trope one day, but I digress. You have two fairly rarely seen (at least in fiction) mob groups as the antagonists, one from Liverpool, the other from Turkey. Anyway, I cannot stress how solid the series is and I cannot recommend it enough.

Revisiting Cat's Eye

I blogged last year about the manga series Cat's Eye. More specifically, its anime adaptation, quite popular when I was around ten. It was about three sisters who were also cat burglars, the Cat's Eye(s) of the title, who also owned by day a coffee shop named... Cat's Eye. They were stealing the art works of their long lost father, because they wanted to find him by... stealing his paintings? To complicate matters, one of the girls, the main character, is dating a young police detective determined to capture the mysterious and elusive cat burgling trio. And yes, he doesn't really suspect that his girlfriend is one of them. He is pretty clueless. I was not a big fan, the plot being far too humorous and filled with glaring plot holes. So yes, they made an adaptation which I found on Disney+. So I gave it a watch. It's entertaining enough, but gripping police drama this is not. Even as a caper, you need to seriously suspend your disbelief. Like not notice that the Cats don't wear gloves and accepting that they are impervious to smoke bombs and tear gas, while the police is not. I laughed out loud a few times at how absurd things were. Still, it's entertaining enough and as I grew quite fond of Japanese anime, I will watch it all. Also, I am a sucker for nostalgia, even if I can be critical of a cultural product.

Secret Service

Since the beginning of 2026, or almost, I have been binge watching spy thrillers. It seems to be my new pastime: watch and read spy fiction. And I found one recently in ITV that I wanted to mention here: Secret Service. It's with Gemma Aterton, a former Bond girl who made quite a nice little career since then. She is not my favourite actress, but I like her. She plays Kate Henderson, an MI6 agent in charge of the Russian desk, who finds out that one of the candidates for the position of UK prime minister might be a Russian mole. But she doesn't know which one. It's nothing too original, it has a few plot holes and you need to suspend your disbelief at times, but it's a solid and fairly well written thriller nonetheless. So yes, if you are living in the UK, I suggest you give it a go.

Tomahawk (Signature Weapon)

 Here is another post in my new Signature Weapons series, about weapons that ought to be seen in crime fiction, either used by the heroes or villains, as a signature weapon. So today I want to blog about the tomahawk. Not the missile, but the Native American axe. As a child, I grew kinda obsessed by it when I saw Disney's Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier. I thought it just looked so cool. So I made it one of my characters' signature weapon in some of our games. My parents had bought a few wooden toys, if I remember well. Now, the tomahawk still exists, although it is more often used as a tool than a weapon. Some look like plain hatchets, some look like they have been forged near Mount Doom. Be that as it may, I am ware that a tomahawo might not be the most practical weapon, even in close quarters. All the same, I would like to see it in a modern crime fiction setting as a signature weapon.

The Hunter

Sometimes, there are dreams that I don't have that come true. So a few days ago, I learn in this Variety article that the crime novel The Last Hunt by South African writer Deon Meyer will be adapted into a TV series. But that's not all: Israeli scriptwriter Noah Stollman, who is also one of the scriptwriters of the spy thriller series Fauda, will do the adaptation. And you know how much I love Fauda. So for me, it is like the meeting of two great creative minds, from two cultures I love. Now Meyer has been adapted before and I have rarely been able to find these adaptations on streaming or on television, but it's good news all the same. The article says it is a spy thriller, which is true of this novel and many other works of Deon Meyer. Anyway, the adaptation is titled The Hunter (working title?) and I will be on the lookout for it. If you are interested, watch this space.