Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue

We really wanted to like this.

We've been Hortowitz fans for years, going back to Foyle's War which is probably the best war era drama we've ever seen.

"Magpie Murders" as a novel was one of the cleverest bits of writing I've read. Most murder mysteries simply recycle old ideas, but this was something new and that is so rare. The TV adaptation he did was even better than the novel and that even rarer. The sequels to both were almost as good and, again, that's rare.

The Hawthorne and Horowitz novels? Again, a completely new type of plot where the real life author (Horowitz) has inserted himself into the story with a completely fictional character (Hawthorne). Superb.

But this???? Anthony, what were you thinking? Did they offer you big $$$ just so they could put your name on the production and attract viewers? Were you rushed by a deadline and had to churn out something by the end of the month and this was the best you could do on short notice?

Whatever the reason ... it just doesn't work.

Nothing new. "Lost" immediately comes to mind but with a bit of a secondary story that probably would have made it more interesting to some. Agatha Christie's "And then there were none" is the other obvious aspect as (we understand) characters get killed off one at a time, day by day.

Characters absolutely wooden. Acting just felt totally wrong.

Everybody's favourite Icelandic actor, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, simply recycling an American persona that he's used in at least two other series; the "good ole boy" with the slow drawl of an accent. Once? Yes. A second time? Pushing it. But using the same type portrayal a third time in a different series? No thank you.

We lasted 20 minutes before checking online reviews as we watched, realizing it wasn't for us, and then giving up.

I'm just good at figuring out who it is most of the time, and this was no exception. I pay attention to the build of the killer, body type. There were enough surprises though that I didn't see coming for me to enjoy this series. However, there are some "there is no way they did that" moments that were so unrealistic and impossible. Definitely worth watching though. Despite the unrealistic events, the writers did a good job and making viewers change who they thought was the killer several times. I maintained who I thought it was throughout, except for a twist that even had me second guess myself.

Okay. So maybe I am just good at guessing twists in mysteries but I figured this out and knew who the killer was by the fourth or fifth episode. I was just waiting for the finale for it to unveil the way I guessed. It did lead to quite a letdown. I'm not sure if other people guessed what was going on but it took away from the enjoyment for me. There were so many plot holes and unrealistic situations that it became quite ludicrous. The acting was hit or miss, the script not that great. I liked that it was only 6 episodes as any more it would have dragged. I liked the mystery aspect of it but again the reveal was disappointing since I figured it out earlier on.

Good old-fashioned TV-show for those who love murder mysteries. Good characters that make you guess who has done it all the time. It feels like an Agatha Christie mystery where the characters sometimes have an intense vibe that makes them more endearing. Great and easy entertainment if you don't try to read too deeply into it and find issues.

As a murder mysteries fan I enjoyed not only the plot and the characters but the oppressive beauty of the Mexican jungle which makes the situation even more challenging. I am looking forward to the last episode and finally finding out what has really happened to them.

"Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue" hooks you with the title - sharp, ominous, impossible to ignore - and if you're the kind who leans into a mystery, it promises more than it delivers. The opening plane crash sets the tone, not in suspense, but in budget. It looks patched together, more green screen than grit. And once the survivors stagger into view, the illusion doesn't hold. The jungle feels like a stage. The stakes feel staged, too.

The characters aren't written - they're sketched. Loud types, hollow arcs, the kind you meet once and forget twice. And still, you hang in, maybe because of Peter Gadiot and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson - two actors who know how to hold a scene, even when the writing gives them nothing but clichés to chew on. They show up. The script doesn't.

By the time the story wraps up and slides toward its twisty, slightly unhinged finish, you're not gripped - but you're not checking out either. There's enough absurdity, enough sudden turns, that you don't need to pay close attention to stay mildly entertained.

It's a mess, but a watchable one. And sometimes, that's enough.