User reviews

Susan Ryeland, the editor of the 'Atticus Pund' detective novels, receives a new manuscript but its unfinished and the author is... The drama switches between the present day and the fictional 1955 plot of the book. Its very cleverly done.

Adapted by Anthony Horowitz (Foyle's War) from his own book I was expecting something decent and it doesn't disappoint. If you want a well-written and acted period detective series with some modern twists, dive in you'll love it. Principal cast were all very good and at 45m an episode it breezes by.

Try and imagine the concept of a Poirot novel taking place inside an episode of Midsomer Murders, that's about the closest description I can think of to describe this quirky, but enjoyable series.

Anthony Horovitz has written some great material, and adapted One great shows, including some of the best loved Agatha Christie dramas.

It's a little confusing at times, but it all comes together well, and even if you don't fully understand events, you will during the conclusion.

It looks amazing, it's a wonderful looking production, with some fabulous clothes, sets and cars. Nice music also, it's not intrusive.

Personally I preferred the scenes set in the past, the crimes in the book were really engaging, I'd be happy to watch a series of Atticus Pund mysteries. In the style of Poirot he also gets his big moment to unravel the mystery.

Will we get The Moonflower Murders? I hope so, that's another cracking book that would adapt well.

If you enjoy the world of Agatha Christie and Francis Durbridge, then you may just enjoy this series, 8/10.

Anthony Horowitz is the author of the successful "Foyle's War". He has also written numerous episodes of "Poirot", "Midsomer Murders" and the children's favourite "Alex Rider". In other words, the guy has an impressive CV.

And Horowitz doesn't disappoint with his latest TV production. "Magpie Murders" is based on one of his own books, and as usual the dialogue is both sharp and intelligent. When Horowitz then sneaks in his typical, humorous reflections on life and death, the mix is perfect.

However, a successful script isn't everything. Even a top-notch writer needs talented actors. With Lesley Manville and Tim McMullan in the lead roles, Horowitz has really been given the perfect interpreters of his stylish text. "Magpie Murders" is first-class entertainment.

Whodunnits are not my thing normally, but I am so pleased I tried this. Highly original and very engaging. The story zipped along and never got boring.

A few of the characters were badly miscast but the leads were excellently played, and Lesley Manville was outstanding.

I hope Britbox will list more quality material.

This is a very different quite quirky whodunnit, the way the modern day story mirrors the story in the murdered authors book is exceptional, this isn't a gritty in your face murder mystery, it's clever, well written and well acted, thoroughly enjoyable and a great addition to the excellent tradition of whodunnit dramas.

As others have correctly said this is a slightly above average offering from the genre of the easy watching gentle whodunnit

Lesley Manville and the main actors are all and the plot interesting and engaging but ..... Why oh why do they feel the need to change historical fact to supposedly attract a more diverse audience?!

All the fringe characters from this little English village in 1955 are non-white, of course they are! 😔 I'm not begrudging anyone making a living but it is ridiculously jarring and distracts from your investment of time and suspension of disbelief

Will stick with it and try and gloss over the failings until/ unless it gets even sillier.

This was one of the best series I've seen in a long time. The story is told in several layers. The central mystery follows the book editor's investigation into the death of the best selling author and the missing final chapter of his last book. In parallel we follow the fictional detective, Atticus Pund, as the story in the last novel unfolds. The use of the same actors in both the present day and the novel adds another dimension to the story telling. The acting is superb, with Lesley Manville as the editor leading a strong cast. Seek this series out. It deserves to be seen more widely.

Fairly entertaining mystery. I enjoy Lesley Manville in just about everything she does. Tim McMullan did a decent job as Pund but Timothy Spall who was originally cast would have given the character that something extra. The past/present storyline was interesting. A few casting mis steps--Nathalie Armin's performance was painfully bad.

Anthony Horowitz . . . Where have you been? I've missed you since Foyle's War! Sure, Alex Rider is fun. I enjoy those too. But the clever writing, the plot twists, the dogged detective, and let's not forget--the perfect and detailed production values that your wife Jill Green seems to always ensure for your pieces--all these add up here to be a delight. Casting seems perfect; acting is solid throughout. Wish I could binge watch but apparently I'll have to make do with weekly releases on my PBS Masterpiece app. I hope I'll see more from you in the future; these have been too far between. I want more!

I absolutely loved the book, couldn't get enough of it.

So my hopes were high!

The casting is great. I like Lesley Manville as Susan, she's wonderful. Woman married to her work who knows she's the best.

Then there's Tim McMullan, perfect Atticus. A little weird, a little foreign.

Conleth Hill is brilliant as Alan Conway - genius that you hate with all your heart!

Love that same actors are playing several parts, it really works.

The setting is nice and picturesque, the writing is good.

Unfortunately by the 3rd episode I was bored! I wish it was a four part series. Now I'm afrais I won't like Moonflower, and I adore that book as well.

Anthony Horowitz is one of our most prolific and successful writers, with 'Foyle's War' a particular favourite of mine - and of millions of viewers. Lesley Manville is a superb actor, and never gives a bad performance. Tim McMullen (who appeared several times in 'Foyle's War') is delightful as Atticus Pünd - and always good in whatever he does.

This is a highly original series, which I am certain delighted Mr Horowitz's inventive mind.

One can but hope that he gives Atticus another outing - preferably with Ms Manville but even solo would be acceptable..

A Splendid series. Thank you.

It's certainly not a bad mini series there is some great acting from the men who play Pund and James and then some shocking acting from some of the other characters from the 50s era. The blends of stories worked really well and it zipped along at a good pace. My main issue though is that the main character in the book appears to be mid to late 40s and as good as Lesley Manville is, she is a lot older and it just jarred with me all the way through and spoiled it. Also the character came off as far harsher on screen and I don't remember the stuff with her Dad but Horowitz wrote the teleplay and I'm sure he knows best. It's fine, I just didn't like some of the cast choices.

Love the book, Magpie Murders, but hated the Masterpiece production. The characters were all wrong. Too many of the characters didn't fit the English village of the 1950s. So sad that film productions must meet a check list dictated by today's society. I have enjoyed a good many of Masterpiece and Mystery productions in the past but I am finding far too few in recent years. Sad to think realism and truth is sacrificed for being politically correct. I know my thoughts and opinions are not the same thoughts and opinions of all but I do think the viewing public expect more from what they view on tv.

Just delicious! The kind of murder mystery I love. The main thread is about an author who publishes his latest murder mystery novel with the last chapter missing an then dies. The publisher, Lesley Manville, then sets out to find the missing chapter. However, this plot is very cleverly merged with the plot of the murder mystery itself in a way that keeps you on your toes and keeps you guessing to the last. Both Lesley Manville and Tim McMullan are superb and I must include the wonderful Conleth Hill. The pace is brisk and the writing is razor-sharp. Oddly, this premiered on Britbox only (as far as I am aware) which may limit its audience but I urge you to watch it if you can. Fully recommended.

It's hard to tell if the audience is being taken for a ride or not. This is a spoof of cheesy Agatha Christie whodunits, so is that why the writing is so corny? That would explain the inside story, but why burden the contemporary story as well? Along with the hokey acting, the writing keeps this series from being anything other than a simple time killer. In particular, the attempts at clue setting are irretrievably ham-fisted. Or is it a sign of the times, that viewers need to be spoon fed the solution with obviously contrived statements which have no purpose but to be called back upon later? It 'taints' the whole project. There, I've fulfilled the minimum word count.

Brilliant! Once again, Horowitz proves that he is only writer in the UK that Steven Moffat needs to legitimately fear. Horowitz has the preternatural ability to succeed in multiple genres, something seldom seen even among the best scribes. Among his many other credits, he was the voice behind the brilliant Foyles War, and also the creator behind the teenage James Bond, Alex Rider. These credits barely scratch the surface. Magpie Murders is not only superb as a stand-alone series, but if you attempt to deconstruct it (for a film class, say) you would immediately notice that he first had to create a complete A-Z mystery in order to create a second mystery that parallels the first, and over episodic TV to boot. The last time I checked, they gave awards for that? ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

This builds into a double whodunit with a very Agatha Christie feel to it. It is ostensibly set in 1950s rural England. The same writer is behind Poirot, and Midsomer Murders.

Now I only gave it a 6 because if you're fussy, things will jar and grate on your nerves. I won't detail Spoilers, but I suggest ignoring them if you can.

I would rate the screenplay as rushed. The plot is very unevenly paced throughout the script. In a novel, you can turn from the last chapter back to page 46 to review earlier events you might not remember. You are unlikely to start searching through Episode 2 halfway through watching Episode 6. My guess is that the writer didn't like the poor price he was offered, and lacked care. He just rushed something off. Midsomer Murders is in the same vein. The Detectives in that show should be called Defectives. They go around for 1¾ hours doing no real police work and without a clue as the murders pile up. Then, when most of the (tiny) village is dead, the "star" is struck by ligntning, and rushes off, catching the murderer in the act.

#sanjuzzreviews #magpiemurders

An awesome double mystery, with 2 stories going hand in hand and finally culminating in a beautifully conceived climax !! One of the most satisfying Brit whodunits that I have watched in recent times.

The first mystery set in the present era is about a book editor's investigation into the murder of a famed novelist and the last missing chapter of his final novel featuring his most famous Detective Atticus Pünd .

The second mystery is set in 1955 and we actually follow Atticus Pünd go about solving the murder ( the novel itself which is missing the final chapter).

Who has killed the author and will the final chapter of the novel ever be retrieved is what this series is all about.

The 2 plots are integrated seamlessly into the narrative to make this series absolutely unmissable. The past/present storyline is interesting & using same actors in the both adds a totally different dimension to the storytelling.

It is unusual for me to lose control of my emotions while writing reviews .. but this series has actually made me do it . Going totally gaga over it !!

Sonyliv has a lot of good content to offer and this is just one of them.

My rating 5/5 for this brilliantly conceived and executed whodunit. ..adios 🙂

I enjoyed the entire cast and appreciated screenwriter/book author Anthony Horowitz sharing aspects of his story at the end of each episode. The period segments were well filmed with costumes and vehicles of the era adding to a high quality production. I would enjoy more films with Tim McMullan's Atticus Pund. Having listened to the audio book a few years ago, I was excited to see the movie. Please know the audio book is also great with narrators Allan Corduner and Samantha Bond. I hope Moonflower Murders becomes a series next. I'd also like to see other Horowitz books filmed with Anthony Horowitz playing himself along side Detective Daniel Hawthorne: The Word is Murder, The Sentence is Death, A Line to Kill, and The Twist of a Knife.

Lesley Manville is exceptional in everything, and the book is a good read, but what went wrong here? I was willing to stick with it but had to turn off due to the excruciatingly bad acting of a female character that comes in half way through the first episode. Peppered with great actors who come and go with nothing much to do, all verging on overacting - director, hang your head - all to ridiculously overblown orchestral music to much plot set-up and no action. They all try very hard - too hard - but this misses the mark. Actually subscribed to Britbox to watch this, what a shame.

The fictional investigation into the murder of an overbearing and obnoxious Lord by a literary detective parallels the actual investigation into the murder of the book's overbearing and obnoxious author. The story within a story is very well structured and the rationale for the 'real life' characters having 'fictional' counterparts quite clever. The cast, led by Lesley Manville and Tim McMullan, is uniformly excellent and the story holds together well over the six parts, avoiding the 'suspect of the week' structure common in multi episode who-done-its and setting up a final resolution that is both cheeky and satisfying. Consider counting the birds. Recommended.

If you start this series, you MUST watch the final episode. It ties all the clues and mysteries from the previous episodes together. It is perhaps the most satisfying ending episode you have seen.

The way this series is presented is unique - the novel in question is sometimes played out on the screen, and sometimes the publishing team and author are played out. Eventually, the editor of the publishing team starts interacting with the novels detective - as if she's daydreaming. The flashbacks are to events in the novel. Several actors portray the 'real-life; characters as well as characters in the novel during these flashbacks.

Very well written, and well performed. I'd like to hear more from this writer.