Moonflower Murders

A pleasant, albeit complicated, murder mystery that juggles three timelines, three murders, and unnecessary personal drama of the protagonist, "Moonflower Murders" is a show that lays the plot(s) on thick, to the detriment of developing characters that are fleshed out, dimensional, or likeable. The plot drags halfway through the season, and I found myself forgetting what the characters' motivations were (and, frankly, who everybody was) thanks to excessive time jumping and the sheer amount of characters we're supposed to keep track of. Susan's personal drama was annoying this time around. And I found the Atticus Pund storyline much more interesting than the present day one. Wish they had time to develop that world a bit more. Great acting, but I expect nothing less from the Brits (and why I enjoy consuming so much British television even though I'm American). I hear Horowitz is releasing a third Ryland/Pund novel this spring, so we'll surely get another one of these seasons in due course. Let's just hope it's less overwrought than this one.

A very good beginning to this fresh new series. After Magpie, it finds our heroine in Greece, running a restaurant with her guy. The restaurant is a disaster, in disrepair and close to financial ruin. She has about had enough. While she is trying to figure things out, a man and a woman come to her and tell her that their daughter has been missing and a book written by the man for whom she was an editor, holds the secret. They offer to pay her a huge sum of money to find the daughter. They say the secret lies in the book. We are then introduced to principle figures. We also realize, as with Magpie, we have actors double cast as characters from present and past. As she is trying to make up her mind, the figure of Atticus Pund appears--her alter ego. Things get cooking but we need to wait.

This sequel to the 'Magpie Murders' opens at a country hotel where a wedding is taking place. Events are disturbed when the body of a guest is discovered in his room. A member of staff, an ex-offender, is quickly arrested and it appears that the case is closed. Eight years later the bride at that wedding has disappeared shortly after claiming the police got the wrong man... she believed the real killer is identified in an 'Atticus Pünd' novel which was inspired by the original murder. Her parents approach the late author's editor, Susan Ryeland, hoping she will be able to find their missing daughter. As with the 'Magpie Murders' the action is divided between Susan's investigation and a dramatization of the fifties-set novel.

Having really enjoyed the 'Magpie Murders' I was keen to see this... while I don't think this was quite as good it was still a lot of fun. I liked how many cast members appear in dual roles; playing a person in the present mystery and the character they inspired in the novel. The cast does a fine job bringing the various characters to life. Mystery fans should be satisfied by the variety of suspects and motives that should keep people guessing for most of the series. The ending was solid although I preferred the resolution of the Pünd case more than the real world one. The series contains little that might offend; even the original hammer-murder isn't gory or disturbing; a sex scene, that is crucial to the plot, is tame and I didn't recall any overly strong language. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody who liked the 'Magpie Murders' or classic murder mysteries.

I throughly enjoyed Magpie Murders. Moonflower Murders is living up to the bar that was set. I am looking forward to more of Alan Conway's books, Susan and Pund in the future. Most excellent series I highly recommend. Lots of twists and turns that leave you guessing to the end. I love the characters, the writing and the parallel investigation from the book and real time. Great writing, acting and story. Wonderful series I highly recommend for a light murder mystery. So much today is so dark and depressing. It's nice to watch something that actually makes you think about what's going on. No profanity, sex and very little violence. It engages the mind to figure out who did what when. So looking forward to future series.

In Magpie Murders viewers enjoyed the clever conceit of present day editor Susan Ryeland receiving help from author Alan Conway's 1950's fictional detective Herr Pund to solve a mystery. Anthony Horowitz created a delightful TV series adaptation from this book.

The second book, Moonflower Murders, is more of the same, except Susan is now hired to solve a mystery as a result of a book she edited for Alan Conway. Herr Pund is still present, guiding her in her quest. In fact, the fun double timeline and doubling of actors in the timeline roles is still present in this second adaptation. However, due to the complexity of the book's plot Horowitz made some tweaks to the TV storyline which streamlines the story, and unfortunately takes some of the punch out of the impact. This isn't a distraction unless the book was read first before watching the series which proves the saying of "The book is the book and the movie is the movie." Both the book and the movie showcase the talented writing of Horowitz.