Strong Second Case for Susan
As much as I enjoyed Magpie Murders when the TV version aired on PBS, I still haven’t managed to read any of author Anthony Horowitz’s books. But that just meant I was even more excited for Moonflower Murders, the second story featuring editor Susan Ryland when it came to PBS. It didn’t disappoint.
This season picks up a little while after the first story ended. Susan (Lesley Manville) has now retired from being an editor and is running a hotel on Crete with her partner, Andreas (Alexandros Logothetis). Well, I should say trying to run a hotel. Things seem to constantly be going wrong, and the stress is getting to her.
That’s why Susan pays attention when two strangers show up looking for her. They are the parents of a woman who has gone missing. They think her disappearance is related to something she read in a book - an Atticus Pund book that Susan edited and was based on a real incident that happens in the hotel they run back in England. They are offering Susan money to come back and see if she can figure out what happened to their daughter. How can Susan refuse? But will she find anything?
This season has the same conceit that the first did. Part of each episode takes place in the present as Susan goes about her investigation. The rest takes place in the 1950’s as we watch Pund (Tim McMullan) take on the fictional case he is working on. Most of the actors play dual roles in both storylines. Honestly, I gave up trying to track them in both timelines and just followed the stories separately.
And they were both intriguing mysteries. There were so many interesting suspects and varying motives that I was kept guessing. I did feel the pacing lagged a little in a couple of episodes that got caught up in some drama in Susan’s personal life. Or maybe the fact that I hated those developments colored by judgement of them. However, that last episode? It blew me away with how intricately things had been plotted all the way along.
I was happy to get to visit Susan again, and I liked the way a few other characters from the first season were worked in again. The new crop of characters were intriguing, as I already said.
All of this is held together by great acting. Those playing dual roles are great at it, but there isn’t a weak link in the cast.
As with the first story, there are six episodes to this season that are roughly 50 minutes or so. Since this is based on a novel, the story reaches a great end and I feel like things are wrapped up well. Of course, a third novel in this series is coming out next year. I’m hoping that means we’ll get it in TV form soon.
If you are looking for a well plotted TV mystery, you won’t go wrong with Moonflower Murders. It will keep you entertained until the last minute.
I actually liked the television shows a little more than the novels. In the novels, I didn't want to leave Susan to investigate the storyline of Pund, so I skipped over a lot of those sections. I do love Lesley Manville (have you seen her in Mum?), so that was an added bonus. I'll definitely read the third novel when it comes out!
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