The Murdoch Mysteries (2008)

"All the cases are based on true ones," says author Maureen Jennings, who reads all scripts and makes suggestions. "A murder case in those days was really sensational – it sold a lot of newspapers.

Set in Victorian Toronto, Detective William Murdoch struggles to solves murders using rudimentary forensic techniques.

This series is based on the novels by author Maureen Jennings , who says, "The thing is, Murdoch is considered slightly crazy by the establishment. He's a forensics expert when the field was only beginning to be developed.

``He uses the new discovery of fingerprints. In other ways he's stymied – at the time there was no blood-typing. He had a microscope but not a modern type. He was literally feeling his way, developing his own methods for catching criminals."

See also the previous series of made-for-tv movies.