Crime drama set in the 1960s about an old-school detective trying to come to terms with a time when the lines between the police and criminals have become blurred.
An unidentified burnt body draws Inspector Gently and Detective Sergeant Bacchus into the shadowy world of IRA gun-running, and into direct opposition with a ruthless Special Branch officer.
When a returning German POW is found dead in the harbour of a small fishing village, Gently and Bacchus find themselves investigating past grievances and present violence.
When an old man is killed on the grounds of his seemingly dilapidated mansion, Gently and Bacchus dig deeper into the history of the former children's home and soon have their prime suspect, Harry Carson, a man who once lived there. But it becomes clear that some of the locals, including property developer Cora Davidson, have something to hide from the duo.
Gently and Bacchus investigate the murder of a young woman whose body is found in a local church. They discover that the girl was a 'Fox', a waitress working at the first hostess club in Newcastle.
Bacchus and Gently investigate a consignment of stolen passports, but the case takes an unexpected turn when a woman linked to the crime is found dead on the seashore with her mixed-race infant son lying near by. As the cops follow a lead on the murder victim's ex-boyfriend, they encounter racial prejudice and are drawn into an underground world of gang wars within the Arab community.
Bacchus and Gently arrive in a small town to investigate when a mill manager is found hanged in what seems to be a suicide case. However, the detectives begin to suspect foul play as they discover money has gone missing and the widow reveals her husband was having an affair. Also, Bacchus and Gently are at odds with each other over a training course Bacchus wants to take that he thinks will help him in his career.
When the body of a young woman is found murdered, Gently and Bacchus find themselves investigating a family with unimaginable secrets. Initially, it appears that the woman's estranged husband, and father of her young daughter, is responsible for the killing. But as they further investigate this disturbed family, they discover a far more alarming truth.
The year is 1966, and the World Cup has come to England. With the USSR due to play at Roker Park, and the fear of the 'Reds Under the Bed' exemplified by the upcoming Polaris submarine landing at the nearby Jarrow docks, tensions are running high. Gently and Bacchus investigate the murder of a well-known left-wing academic, found dead in the docks after a CND rally.This takes them onto the Durham University campus - an ancient temple of learning, struggling to come to terms with the novel influx of students from the working class and brash, radical, academics. Sexual and social rebellion is everywhere, and to the young and optimistic these forces seem inevitable and unstoppable.
When the body of missing schoolgirl, Mary, is discovered in a shallow grave in Pinnock Woods, Gently and Bacchus are thrown into the new world of pop and media celebrity. Detective drama set in 1966, starring Martin Shaw and Lee Ingleby.
The detective looks into the suspicious death of an old friend and informant nicknamed "China", when he is told conflicting reasons for the man's demise by the coroner and the nurse who tended him in his final few hours. The investigation leads Gently to the local police station, where it becomes clear the officers are hiding something – and to complicate matters, the disappearance of a teenage boy is also linked to the case.
As Enoch Powell delivers his Rivers of Blood speech, disillusioned young people, black and white, come together to dance the night away to Northern Soul music at all-nighters. In Newcastle, their haven of equality is destroyed when a young black girl is murdered. Gently and Bacchus have their eyes opened to the shocking consequences of casual racism as racial tension spirals out of control, leaving a path of destroyed friendships, love affairs and families in its wake.
Chief inspector George Gently and Sergeant John Bacchus investigate the death of a beautiful young girl in a car belonging to local aristocrats.
It is 1968 and the shame of illegitimacy still burns the cheeks of single mothers and the families who force their unmarried daughters into 'mother and baby homes'. When the adopted child of a middle-class couple is kidnapped, suspicion falls upon the baby's birth mother. However, Gently and Bacchus's investigation into the mother and baby home itself reveals a much darker side to this hothouse of morality and raises serious questions about this seemingly perfect couple.
It has been four years since George Gently came north, but his old enemies haven't forgotten him. A vicious career criminal who Gently sent down years ago has been released, on the grounds that evidence was fabricated to frame him by Gently himself. And he is hell-bent on revenge. Suspended from duty, Gently finds himself powerless, unprotected and persecuted. If he is to survive, Gently must confront his deepest fears and fight to the death.
It is 1969, and approximately six months since the shootings in the cathedral. Gently is taken by surprise when he learns of Bacchus's resignation, realising that his sergeant has lost his confidence. Still suffering his own scars from the incident, Gently sets about fixing Bacchus and insists that he help him investigate a death in custody - a case that has both Gently and Bacchus questioning what it means to be a police officer at a time when attitudes to the police are changing. Meanwhile, the victim's family ask the pertinent question: 'aren't the police supposed to protect us?'.
The body of a murdered girl washed up by a pier leads Gently and Bacchus to investigate the staff and holidaymakers at a family holiday camp. They explore how the youth of 1969 have more independence than their parents and discover that with fewer families coming to the camp, the ideal of the family holiday begins to break down. Gently and Bacchus delve into this world of fame seeking and sex, and discover the dark underbelly of a permissive society as the traditional family dynamics of the past begin to crumble.
Gently and Bacchus delve into a world of army secrets when a young former soldier, Scott Tanner, commits a murder in a Turkish bath. Whilst investigating Tanner's history, Gently hears of horrific allegations of what some soldiers have to face from their own side. He is forced to question the uncomfortable truth of what it means to serve one's queen and country, as an event from the past presses on his conscience.
Throughout the 60s, Northumberland coal mining was decimated as competition from oil, gas, cheap imports and nuclear power led to the closure of dozens of collieries. Burnsend is potentially one such community. Once a thriving colliery town, the future of the town's pit hangs in the balance as the coal board consider closing it. The mysterious death of the union leader in the mine leads Gently and Bacchus to explore the tensions and relationships in the community. They encounter families driven by politics and caught in grudges that date back to the Second World War.
A woman's body is found, brutally attacked. Gently wants to catch the killer and stop him attacking again. Worried that mistakes made have been down to one inspector, he becomes keen to get to the bottom of another mystery that is unfolding within the force.
Inspector Gently is intrigued as to why a woman has tragically committed suicide. There are too many details that don't add up, and he suspects murder. Why did this woman, a GP, want to end her life? Gently's investigation leads him and his team to the discovery of a bigger industrial crime, more murders and more victims. Gently puts his career on the line to uncover who is really to blame.
A man has thrown himself off the Tyne Bridge and is found dead, landed on a pile of rubbish. Or so it seems. Gently knows it's murder and believes it's one involving lifelong friends. Who would want to kill a man who was apparently loved by all?
It's 1969, and on Christmas Eve Gently is enjoying the festive cheer, until he gets news. A bank has been hit, and there's work to be done. Gently's hunt for the gunmen takes him into the world of skinheads. Gently has little fear, but the world is changing around him.Gently is later faced with a difficult dilemma. Does the law always have to be so cruel? Can he bend it just this once?
In Newcastle in 1970, DCI Gently re-opens Bacchus's old case of a woman convicted of her husband's murder. Will he expose a miscarriage of justice or jeopardise his reputation?
DCI Gently is set for retirement, but when DI Lister, the head of a new covert special investigations unit, presents him with an unsolved case, Gently can't resist one more intriguing offer. The case leads to political intrigue, corruption - and tests Gently to his core. When the team faces mortal danger, how will they survive?
