Noose

Best known for the Harpur and Iles procedural series (Play Dead, etc.), James spins an effective psychological tale of a man whose past shapes his future, despite efforts to carve his own path. In 1956, journalist Ian Charteris covers the possible suicide attempt of a 20-year-old actress, Daphne West, who may be his half-sister. This near-tragedy leads Ian to recall his father’s heroic act, reported in the local newspaper—the rescue in 1934 of 23-year-old Emily Bass, who fell into the Bristol Channel from a Welsh paddle ship. A few years later, Ian made the news himself as a key witness in a murder trial, much to his father’s displeasure. Those two events color Ian’s subsequent career, prompting him to reflect that “I’ve been snared, noosed,” as indeed he has, with the older Emily playing a large and largely offstage role in his life. Covering more than two decades of turbulent British history, James brings his story full circle back to its beginning. (Dec.)