The first time I binge-watched a television series was on a long flight from Dublin to Boston. I immersed myself in multiple episodes of the often grim but always gripping British series “Spooks”—“MI-5” in the U.S. with its dark world of conflicted agents and deadly plots.

Since then, I’ve binge-watched a wide range of British crime series. Some of my favorites are based on book series.

Endeavour

A young Endeavour Morse, smart, awkward and dedicated, solving crime with mentor Fred Thursday in 1960s Oxford and surroundings, based on characters created by Colin Dexter.

Here’s a photo of one of our visits to this beautiful area.

Sherlock

Benedict Cumberbatch! A brilliant take-off on the original Sherlock Holmes created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

George Gently

Tough, gruff, wounded George Gently and his bad-boy sergeant, John Bacchus, in 1960s northern England, based on the series by Alan Hunter.

DCI Banks

Flawed, sympathetic detectives in contemporary northern England, based on the series by Peter Robinson. My husband’s read all the books and loves them and the TV series.

Grace

I started reading his page-turning Peter James’ series before I watched it on screen. We’re four seasons in. Can’t wait for Season 5.

Vera and Shetland

Based on long-running series by Ann Cleeves, these are two long-running favorites. After 14 seasons, Vera ended this year on a brilliant note. Shetland has moved on from beloved Jimmy Perez with a new, engaging DCI, but Tosh, Sandy and Billy are, happily, still with us.

I know people who’ve visited Shetland after watching the show, but I’ve never been (yet!). But here’s a Scotland photo just for fun.

As I type this, we’re wrapping up the latest season of Father Brown, based on tales by G.K. Chesterton. Hope some of these are your favorites or inspire you to binge-watch and/or binge-read. Enjoy!