mystery series

Tag Archive: mystery series

Surface–A disappointing drama on Apple TV’s streaming service

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September 4, 2022

Review by C.J. Bunce

For every series that exceeds your expectations–say, for example, this weekend’s premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power–a series you have hopes for disappoints. This summer, Apple TV+ subscribers were provided with a weekly dose of what was billed as a psychological thriller. Surface follows a woman of uncertain identity as she tries to find herself after she may have tried to commit suicide by jumping off a ship into the ocean and awakened afterward with amnesia. A series with such a preposterous starting point owes it to viewers to provide some compelling storytelling. With the final episode of its first season arriving this past week, the truth set in. A payoff never happens. Just a corporate effort to get viewers, complete with corporate logos waved at the viewer, banking on doses of cliffhanger endings, all setting up for a batch of unanswered questions for the final scene in hopes someone will pick it up for a second season? Save yourself the time: You have tens of thousands of other series–especially British-led series as this is–with far more compelling stories.

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From Page to Screen: Agatha Christie’s Ordeal by Innocence

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September 5, 2021

Review by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Make no mistake, despite the title, this BBC adaptation really is not Agatha Christie’s Ordeal by Innocence. It is without doubt writer Sarah Phelps’s Ordeal by Innocence, and it stands out as the best of her recent adaptations of Christie’s works. In many ways, the 2018 television series is better than its source material. Phelps is known for adding prurient subtext and graphic imagery to her film versions, efforts that typically seem uncomfortably gratuitous (such as the gore and sado-masochism in The ABC Murders, reviewed here at borg). But in the case of Ordeal by Innocence, the delivery is more even-handed and her departures make the story better. I came into the three-part miniseries immediately after reading Christie’s novel. Published in 1958, Ordeal by Innocence centers around the classic mystery trope of the missing alibi witness, but with a tragic twist.

One lonesome night, scientist Arthur Calgary (played by Attack the Block’s Luke Treadaway) picks up a hitchhiker, and then is unavoidably detained, unaware that his testimony could make or break a murder trial. Jack Argyll (Jacko in the novel, played here by Derry Girls’ Anthony Boyle) has been convicted of the murder of his adopted mother, philanthropist Rachel Argyll, matriarch of a clan of adopted children and assorted other household members. Jack, with his contentious relationship with Rachel and a history of petty crime, seems the ideal suspect for the crime. When Dr. Calgary appears long after the fact to clear Jack’s name, his mission of mercy and justice is met with strange reactions from all involved. It’s almost as if they want brother and son Jack to be guilty.

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SurrealEstate–A surprisingly good genre twist on selling troubled real estate

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July 17, 2021

Review by C.J. Bunce

Tom Rozon is looking like you probably haven’t seen him before–or at least for the past 10 years. The handlebar moustache from his stint as roguish Doc Holliday on Wynonna Earp is gone, and that lack of facial hair he’s sported for his outlandish roles in Vagrant Queen on back to Lost Girl and beyond makes the real estate agent he plays in his next series seem boyish, trustworthy, and kindly–he looks at least 10 years younger than his 45 years. The new series is SurrealEstate, and the pilot episode that aired Friday on Syfy has all the makings of a regular addition to any good genre TV follower’s DVR. It begins with fantastic writing and dialogue, from new TV creator George Olson and writer Gillian Muller (Endlings, Life with Boys).

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The Irregulars–Next Sherlock Holmes spin-off goes supernatural with a sinister Dr. Watson and teens doing the sleuthing

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March 5, 2021

In the next of what has been literally thousands of adaptations over the past 134 years of Doyle stories of his famous detective Sherlock Holmes and companion Dr. John Watson, Holmes takes the backseat and Doyle’s street urchins called the Baker Street Irregulars take center stage. Netflix’s The Irregulars is an eight-episode series set in Doyle’s traditional Victorian London, following the local troubled young adult/teenagers who now solve crimes at the behest (as in blackmail) of Watson, leaving an elusive, drug-addict Holmes to get all the credit for their successes. The crimes aren’t garden-variety either, with dark supernatural twists promised for the series. Henry Lloyd-Hughes (The Pale Horse) plays Holmes, Royce Pierreson (Death in Paradise) is Watson, and the ubiquitous Aidan McArdle (Ella Enchanted, Humans, Mr. Selfridge) is Inspector Lestrade, but they aren’t the leads. Those are played by young Thaddea Graham (The Letter for the King), Darci Shaw (Judy), Jojo Macari (Cursed), McKell David (The Gentlemen), and Harrison Osterfield (Chaos Walking). It feels like Sherlock Holmes with a Doctor Who spin.

Take a look at the trailer for Netflix’s The Irregulars:

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Victorian Girl Detectives are coming your way this Fall

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September 18, 2020

As ardent fans of Stranger Things, Victorian mysteries, and all things Millie Bobby Brown (Intruders, Godzilla: King of Monsters), we were indeed excited to see the preview for Netflix’s new Enola Holmes, based on Nancy Springer’s novels for elementary (ahem) schoolers. Teenager Enola Holmes is the much younger sister of two famous older brothers, Mycroft (Sam Claflin, My Cousin Rachel) and Sherlock (Henry Cavill, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.). When their unconventional mother (Helena Bonham Carter, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter series) disappears, Enola sets off to track her down, much to the chagrin of her siblings. Proving she’s ever bit as clever as her brothers, Enola (naturally) stumbles into a mystery.

The direct-to-Netflix film looks to be chock full of delightful Victoriana, and the source material is a fun twist on the Sherlock story. We love seeing Milly Bobby Brown with her natural English accent.

And if you think this trailer looks like fun, allow me to point out even more diverting Victorian mysteries featuring an irrepressible young sleuth you’ll surely also enjoy. My own new novels, Premeditated Myrtle and How to Get Away with Myrtle (currently an Amazon #1 New Release!) are being published October 6, in a rare two-book launch event extravaganza (to quote a publisher of our acquaintance). Twelve-year-old Myrtle Hardcastle has an unconventional obsession with criminology and a passion for justice… and a Highly Opinionated Feline Sidekick. Netflix Life lists the Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries as part of its “7 Books to Read if You Like Enola Holmes on Netflix.”

Here’s the trailer for Netflix’s Enola Holmes:

Begin by getting your first fix of Victorian sleuthing with Enola Holmes on Netflix September 23, and check out my new mystery series October 6, at Amazon and other fine booksellers.

Elizabeth C. Bunce / mystery novelist / borg contributor

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The Pale Horse–Amazon Studios’ next Agatha Christie mystery series is here

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March 22, 2020

Review by C.J. Bunce

Screenwriter Sarah Phelps (EastEnders, Dublin Murders) is back with her next project, another adaptation of a well-known Agatha Christie work, a year from release of her first Amazon Studios project, The ABC Murders (reviewed here at borg), which starred John Malkovich and Rupert Grint. The new series is Christie’s creepy tale The Pale Horse, a supernatural mystery from 1961, directed by Leonora Lonsdale (Beast). The series stars Rufus Sewell (The Man in the High Castle, Zen, A Knight’s Tale) as Mark Easterbrook, a man of questionable character whose wife dies in the bathtub at the beginning of the story. Remember his name, because it is included last on a list found in the shoe of another dead woman. Why women are ending up dead found on the list, and why Easterbrook’s name was included, is the key mystery of this two-part series.

As Easterbrook is hounded by the local police led by Sean Pertwee (Gotham, Doctor Who) as Inspector Stanley Lejeune–who is investigating the string of deaths. Easterbrook decides to investigate himself, to beat the inspector to the answer, which takes him to the small town of Much Deeping. Much Deeping has an inn, an inn that is home to three witches, and he figures that somehow they are connected. Easterbrook’s second wife, a key player in the story, is played by Kaya Scodelario (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, The Maze Runner). This is another Christie story of lies, and the lying liars that tell them, with the oddball, quirky twists we saw in both The ABC Murders and Murder on the Orient Express.

Rounding out the cast are familiar genre faces Georgina Campbell (His Dark Materials, Krypton, Broadchurch, Black Mirror) as the first Mrs. Easterbrook and Bertie Carvel (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Sherlock, Doctor Who) as another man interviewed in relation to the deaths.

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Tags: Agatha Christie, Agatha Christie's The Pale Horse, Amazon Studios, Bertie Carvel, cozy mysteries, Georgina Campbell, Kaya Scodelario, Leonora Lonsdale, Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini, mystery novels, mystery series, Rufus Sewell, Sarah Phelps, Sean Pertwee, supernatural mysteries, The Pale Horse, The Pale Horse series review, The Wicker Man

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The Pale Horse–Next Agatha Christie mystery adaptation is coming to Amazon

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February 19, 2020

A celebrated Agatha Christie supernatural mystery from 1961, The Pale Horse has been adapted into a mini-series, and it’s coming to Amazon next month. The series stars Rufus Sewell (The Man in the High Castle, Zen, A Knight’s Tale) as Mark Easterbrook, the story’s main protagonist, a historian who accompanies a celebrated mystery author named Ariadne Oliver to a small town called Much Deeping (Oliver was based on Christie, but may or may not be a player in the Amazon adaptation). The story’s title comes from the Revelations story from The Bible: “Then I looked and saw a pale horse. Its rider’s name was Death…” In the novel the Pale Horse is the local inn. An inn that houses three witches.

Sean Pertwee (Gotham, Doctor Who) is Inspector Stanley Lejeune, responsible for tracking down a series of murders. He approaches Easterbrook when his name is found on a list hidden in a shoe of one victim. This adaptation comes from Sarah Phelps, who adapted Christie’s The ABC Murders (reviewed here) and Dublin Murders (reviewed here). Easterbrook’s wife, a key player in the story, is played by Kaya Scodelario (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, The Maze Runner).

Will this adaptation be typical Christie cozy mystery or one of her more over-the-top tales? (The witches are probably a hint). It looks to have some of the flair of Minky Woodcock and The Wicker Man. Take a look at this trailer for Agatha Christie’s The Pale Horse:

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