Recipes for Love and Murder

A newspaper recipe columnist in a small South African community has to take over the advice column of said paper and gets swept up in a criminal investigation when one of her letter writers is murdered.

This series is a mixed bag overall but I would still recommend watching it. The investigation of the abused wife's murder is spread across all 10 episodes and is a bit tepid as murder mysteries go. I had figured out who the murderer most likely was by around the second or third episode. I think you could have jettisoned the whole crime angle and focused on Tannie Maria and her food-laced advice column and it would still have been a satisfying series. The somewhat violent climax in the last two episodes felt at odds with the series' overall gentle, somewhat humorous tone. (And the murderer's actions at the end make absolutely no sense anyway but I won't say more than that)

What works in this series is the unfamiliar context (South Africa...I'm from the U. S.), a skillful use of flashbacks, the beautifully filmed scenery and food, and the actors. Maria Doyle Kennedy makes for an unusual detective. She's soft spoken, sweet-natured, introverted and even a bit passive at times. Tony Kgoroge is appropriately brusque as the chief detective (and love interest). Kylie Fisher as the fiery young journalist (Maria's fellow investigator) is very good as a young woman with a lot of stuff on her plate. And Arno Greef is very likable as her good-natured, kinda-lunk-headed, boyfriend. And all the other actors are enjoyable as well.

To sum up: The series has an uneven tone overall but I think with some script-tightening, it could be something special. I enjoyed watching it.

I really enjoyed the storyline, writing, the location, characters and acting...even the music was great and offered something distinctly unique to this show. I want to learn more about the characters and I'm hopeful that there will be more seasons to come. Very charming show in spite of the fact that it's an intriguing murder mystery!

The photography is beautiful and I enjoyed the look of the scenes, like stage settings, with thoughtful color schemes...the setting in South Africa is also appreciated by this viewer as we rarely see shows depicting African countries.

Please continue with this creative and worthwhile series...I never write reviews so with luck, it will be received well!

Beautifully filmed. Proudly south african moment........ makes you want to eat all the time lol......... Beautifully filmed. Proudly south african moment........ makes you want to eat all the time lol.........

It matters that Tannie Maria (aka Maria Purvis) is the most likable amateur detective introduced in a long while because it means longevity - we look forward to seeing her again and willing to spend some of our time with her. Big credit goes to actress Maria Doyle Kennedy (who played one of the most hated characters in Downtown Abbey - Vera Bates). The series has an easy-going character driven style for the most part laced with some tension and a dash of the macabre with loads of humour, creating its own idiosyncratic take on the 'cottage-murder-mystery'. The cinematography, acting, music, story-telling and recipes work well together. Sure there is room for improvement, a bit of tweaking here and there but a solid first season worth the viewing and second helping.

This series is charming in many ways. Like other cozy mysteries there is a cast of characters, most of whom are enjoyable company, and some of whom have quirks that you may find annoying. Personally, I enjoyed all the characters and some I found very pleasant company. The location is another plus for the series. South Africa is certainly a different setting and one I'd like to see more often.

From the trailer I'd expected a new mystery with each episode but there is basically one case for the whole ten episodes. That was okay with me, especially as there is more than one mystery to be unraveled in that time. I do hope there's a second season in which we can get to know more about the main character, played by Maria Doyle Kennedy (excellent) and the other characters.