Foyle’s War: The French Drop

I’d always heard good things about “Foyle’s War,” and had even watched an episode, but I wasn’t paying much attention and therefore never even tried to review it. When I checked out another episode, “The French Drop,” from our local library, my husband looked at the box and –completely unaware that I’d tried once before — said, “I’ve heard this is good but you have to pay attention.” Heh.

When I asked on Twitter if any of my followers were fans of the show, I got several enthusiastic endorsements. @christymystery tweeted, “Someone recc’d it to us – great series!” @Col_Reads said, “My parents are fanatics — I plan to borrow the series when I go out there for Easter.” And @JStevenYork reported that he’s “Enjoying ‘Foyle’s War’ very much. History & mystery mixed well. Working through series 2 now…” So I headed into watching this episode in a better frame of mind than the first time out. In fact, this time I paid attention.

The series takes place during World War II in England, and it focuses on the criminal investigations of Christopher Foyle (played by Michael Kitchen). This particular episode concerns what appears to be an open-and-shut case: a body found in an old bookshop, identifiable by an engraved pocket watch, and a suicide note found in the man’s flat. But things don’t add up to Foyle’s satisfaction. For instance, the man’s parents have never heard of the girl who supposedly caused him to commit suicide. The watch, an expert says, isn’t old but is made to look old. And then there’s an odd broken vase in a cemetery. Foyle’s investigations lead him to a British spy organization, newly created to help defeat Hitler by any means necessary.

@JStevenYork suggested that if I enjoyed the episode, I should go back and watch them in order. “Mysteries work as stand-alones, but there are advancing character arcs…,” he tweeted–and I could tell that I was missing something about Foyle trying to get into war service– “plus, series steps through war years and historic changes.” Good advice, and I’m going to follow it.