The House of Foyle

The Yankees tanked the first half of the baseball season for the sole purpose, I believe, of leveling the playing field as they prepare to overtake the Boston Red Sox. I fanatically watch just about every game, apart from which I don't see a lot of television. That this has deprived me of an enthralling experience was recently evident when I watched several episodes of "Foyle's War," perhaps the best pure detective program since the early years of "Columbo."

A monster hit in England, "Foyle's War" then came to these shores on Masterpiece Theatre, which is telecast on PBS. If you missed it, several episodes are available on DVD. I recommend the boxed set of the first four episodes, each about 100 minutes long, released by Acorn Media at $59.95.

Christopher Foyle (played by the low key but masterful Michael Kitchen) is a Detective Chief Superintendent (irritatingly, the polite British constantly address him with all nine syllables of his title) in the south of England during the early years of World War II. Inevitably, the politics of the era come into play as Foyle goes about his job.

"The German Woman," the first episode, is set up as a traditional detective story, much in the manner of an Agatha Christie novel. Indeed, the creator of "Foyle's War," Anthony Horowitz, wrote several episodes of "Poirot," which had a successful run on PBS's "Mystery!" series. It was the conclusion of the "Poirot" series, in fact, that led ITV to seek another mystery series. Out of 300 suggestions, Mr. Horowitz won out.

The German-born wife of a local magistrate is unloved by her stepdaughter and her fiancé, as she constantly speaks out against their proposed marriage, claiming that the young man, a solicitor, is merely after the family fortune. Golly. A duplicitous solicitor. What will they think of next?

As a native of Germany, the magistrate's wife is despised by her neighbors, and they suspect her of sympathizing at the least and spying at the worst. Their feelings only deepen when a bomb strikes the pub, killing a popular young woman.

As customary in a classic detective story, there is no shortage of suspects when the German woman is murdered in a grisly fashion. Most of those under suspicion had looked or said something threatening, putting the spotlight on each in turn as the likely villain. Fingers are pointed, accusations hurled, and confusion runs rampant until Foyle (and what a good name for a crime fighter!) turns up.

Although well-known in Great Britain, I was unfamiliar with Mr. Kitchen, who plays the sleuth as I always imagined British detectives would behave: solid, stolid, gentle, understanding, yet utterly determined to resolve the case, and merciless when his prey is identified.

The second episode, "The White Feather," uses as background a fascist group of British politicians, businessmen, and members of the military.

As with the best mystery fiction, this series offers more than a detective story. (I have vowed, by the way, that if I ever slip and use the phrase "transcends the genre" I will commit suicide by rereading the complete works of Martha Grimes, thereby boring myself to death.)

Apart from the intelligent plotting and writing, one of the elements that elevates "Foyle's War" is the WWII background. No major battles are filmed here, no strategy session with top brass. Instead, there are the small things that ordinary people had to endure every day: Blackouts, rationing, the terrifying sound of airplanes overhead, the relentless, draining, fear that loved ones may not return.

These ordinary people are not always the decent, generous, stalwarts that we would like them to be. They are dangerously xenophobic, sometimes dishonest, greedy, cowardly, and prone to other unattractive human traits. Which is the point. They are human — no more, no less.

Foyle is the best of them, though his driver — perky, smart, aggressive, nosy — enhances the episodes wonderfully by injecting bounce into proceedings. The detective chief inspector is a bit stodgy, but Sam (played by Honeysuckle Weeks — I'm not making this up) won't allow him to overdo it.

In the normal order of things, good books are good books, and usually make terrible movies. Good television series are good television series, and the novelizations they inspire have all the vitality of a sucked orange.

In the case of "Foyle's War," however, each episode is so fully realized that a decent novelist could produce a worthwhile reading experience. At least, I think so. Of course, anything seems possible when you don't know what you're talking about.

Mr. Penzler is the proprietor of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan and the series editor of the annual "Best American Mystery Stories." He can be reached at otto penzler@mysteriousbookshop.com.