Sphere has announced that it is to publish a novel based on the sensational ITV whodunnit, Broadchurch. Shown in January this year, the programme starred David Tennant as DI Alex Hardy, with Olivia Colman playing his colleague DS Ellie Miller. The story revolves around Hardy’s investigation into the death of a young boy in the close-knit community of Broadchurch, on the Dorset coast.
The screenplay for the eight-part series was written by Chris Chibnall and he will be co-authoring the book along with up-and-coming crime author Erin Kelly. “Like everyone else I know, I was gripped and moved by Broadchurch,” says Kelly. “I’m utterly thrilled to be writing the novel, not least because it gave me an excuse to watch the whole series again, multiple times. It’s testament to the writing, the performances and the photography that I was spellbound even when I knew the outcome. I can’t wait to delve even deeper into the hearts and thoughts of the characters and to bring the town to life on the page.”
Psychological thriller
Erin Kelly is known for her gripping psychological novels, including The Burning Air which we reviewed here. Chibnall adds: “The day after Broadchurch finished, a woman stopped me on West Bay beach and asked me, ‘When’s the book coming out?’ Now I have an answer! Even better, we have one of Britain’s best psychological thriller authors at the helm. I’ve loved Erin’s work for a long time now. Her writing is beautiful, emotive and suffused with tension.”
The show’s dramatic landscapes were shot in West Bay, on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, which is where Chris Chibnall grew up. Meanwhile, the town scenes were filmed in Clevedon, near Bristol. In the series, journalists, townsfolk, the police and family members all have their own theories as to who killed Danny Latimer… as well as their own secrets. Broadchurch received widespread critical acclaim and the rights to an American version have been acquired by Fox. Meanwhile, newspapers and magazines in the UK are currently speculating about who will be cast in series two. Viewing figures for the first series reached nine million.
The novel is expected to appear in August 2014. It will be published by Minotaur in the United States. You can read our interview with Erin Kelly here.
