“A Who Done It Without the Solution. It’s Not Even Worth the Paper it Won’t Be Printed On.”
I’ve been hearing lots of praise for Anthony Horowitz’s books the last few years, but I haven’t had a chance to try any of them. When I learned that PBS Mystery was airing an adaptation of Magpie Murders as a six-episode miniseries, I decided to jump in and see what I thought.
Susan Reyland (Leslie Manville) is an editor who has had the opportunity to work with bestselling author Alan Conway (Conleth Hill) on his incredibly popular Atticus Pund (Tim McCullan) mystery series. He’s just turned in his latest book, and Susan can’t wait to dive in and read it.
However, she quickly discovers that the printout she has is missing the final chapter of the book – the chapter where Atticus solves the crime. Then comes the news that Alan has died, possibly a suicide. Susan sets out to try to find the final chapter in his home, but all she uncovers are more questions. Can she find the missing chapter? What happened to Alan? And will she ever learn how Atticus’s latest case ends?
The story in the TV series unfolds in parallel. We get the story of what is happening with Susan as she tries to solve the real-life mystery, but we also get the case that Atticus is trying to solve as it unfolds. Since Atticus’s case is set in the 1950’s, the costumes of the cast do help a little with these transitions.
However, one of the plot points of the story is that Alan based the characters in this book on people he knew, and the real-life people are suspects in his death. As a result, many of the actors are playing double duty as their real-life characters and the fictional characters based on them. Sometimes, that made the transitions a little more confusing than they needed to be.
Likewise, having two mysteries unfolding side by side is a little confusing. Since the six episodes aired on six consecutive Sundays, I sometimes had a hard time remembering which plot points and clues went with which part of the story.
When we hit the solution, I realized I had followed it more than I thought I was. As the solution to both mysteries was laid out, I not only followed each climax, but I also sat is awe at how the various clues had been slipped into the story and what they meant. I love a mystery that is as perfectly plotted as this one was.
None of my earlier comments should be taken as a slight on the actors. I’m sure they had fun playing two different characters, and their performances are always top notch.
After this, I definitely need to read some of Anthony Horowitz’s novels. If they are all as good as this TV adaptation of Magpie Murders, I’ve definitely found a new author I’ll love.
That sounds very appealing. I wonder if it’s still available.
ReplyDeletebest… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I love his Word is Murder series and can only hope that one day it will be adapted as a BBC mystery and that he will play himself! Had this thought just last night. Like that series more than Magpie Murders to read. Have to admit to skimming a lot of the Pund parts of the book.
ReplyDeleteOh, this series looks good. I'm going to see if I can find it. Nice review, Mark
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the adaptation. I've hesitated to watch it, since I loved the book. If you ever watched Foyle's War--or even if you didn't--you might also enjoy his Hawthorne and Horowitz series. In it, Horowitz writes himself as a bumbling Watson character to a brilliant but slightly shady detective. It's a great series, too.
ReplyDelete