Magpie Murders

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Anthony Horowitz, Britbox original Magpie Murders sees Susan, the editor of a best-selling author, receive an unfinished copy of the writer’s (played by Conleth Hill) latest manuscript. When the author is suddenly found dead, however, Susan tasks herself with recovering the final chapter so that the book can be published. But her investigation soon turns into her own whodunnit mystery when she suspects that foul play is involved.

Magpie Murders is everything that’s needed for a griping mystery: a sleepy village, a long list of suspects with an axe to grind, and an unexplained death. What makes this series extra enticing is its dual narrative format. The plot of the unfinished manuscript plays alongside Susan’s own investigation. It’s a somewhat cartoonish affair that centres around a Poirot-esque private detective named Atticus Pünd (Tim McMullan) as he investigates his own murder inquiries at a lavish manor house. Both mysteries are cleverly intertwined, with the writer’s work seemingly holding the answers Susan seeks.

What isn’t so great, though, is the series’s presentation. Portrayed like an over-the-top Midsummer Murders but played with utter seriousness, it’s difficult to tell how much of what’s on-screen was intended to be comedy. The cast of key characters are likewise nothing more than caricatures of their manuscript counterparts, who are themselves pantomime versions of genre archetypes. All of this distracts from the mystery at hand and can be torturous to endure. But nothing is as unbearable as the garish editing, littered with needless and off-putting Dutch angles. Moreover, the script has a nasty habit of treating its viewers like children by over-explaining plot points and repeating important lines of dialogue that were only spoken moments earlier. A great premise like this deserved much better than what it got.

There is a still a riveting whodunnit mystery at the heart of Magpie Murders – its audience’s enjoyment will likely depend on whether they can handle the overdone presentation.

Andrew Murray

Magpie Murders is released on Britbox on 10^th February 2022.

Watch the trailer for Magpie Murders here: