11 books you need to read in 2017 before their TV adaptations air

Book to TV adaptations were plentiful in 2016 and as a new year begins we can expect to see those “soon to be TV series” shelves in our bookshops filling up fast.

Here are the books you need to read before they hit the small screen…

1. The Cormoran Strike series – Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)

The Musketeers and War and Peace star Tom Burke will play the Afghanistan war veteran turned private detective in a series of three BBC “event dramas” based on JK Rowling’s novels, which were written under the pen name Robert Galbraith.

First up is The Cuckoo’s Calling (consisting of three hour-long episodes), which will be followed by two-parters The Silkworm and Career Of Evil. Holliday Grainger stars as Strike’s sidekick, Robin Ellacott.

2. Apple Tree Yard – Louise Doughty

A huge hit in 2013, Louise Doughty’s psychological thriller is heading to the BBC with British favourites Emily Watson and Ben Chaplin at the heart of the tale.

Married with two grown-up children, Yvonne Carmichael (Watson) lives a contented, conventional suburban life. But her world spirals into chaos, when a chance encounter leads to an impulsive and passionate affair with a charismatic stranger (Chaplin).

Despite all her careful plans to keep her home life and career safe and separate from her affair, fantasy and reality soon begin to overlap and everything she values is put at risk, as a life-changing act of violence leads to a Crown Court trial.