User reviews

I agree with other reviewers. This series was good but the Magpie Murders was top notch. It just seemed to flow a little better than this series.

I found myself getting really confused with the characters. Like the actresses' husband looked just like her doctor (not sure of the names). It was just not as smooth and easy to follow as Magpie series.

The string of possible suspects was endless. Everyone was so unlikeable in their own way. This made for an interesting whodoneit.

Atticus was wonderful as usual. A great detective. I'm not sure if I really like Susan but perhaps she is not meant to be that likeable. Even her own sister did not want to confide in her. It was also nice to see Mr. Beard. I really enjoyed his character from the Magpie series as Allen's boy toy. He ended up being a great contributor.

One case had a big twist but the other case was rather obvious, really.

I do hope the series, or ones similar continues.

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.

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.

I don't agree with the couple of negative reviews here. I found the story and writing very good (Anthony Horowitz adapting his own novel). The plot was twisty and engaging, and the 'story in a story' keeps you on your toes.

If you liked Magpie Murders, you'll very probably like Moonflower Murders. It's once again a well-written recreation of the 'golden age' whodunnit.

The interaction between Susan and Pünd is always enjoyable. Susan's personal drama does not get too much in the way of the murder mystery, and the mingling of the two feels relevant.

I hear the third Susan Ryeland novel is coming out in March 2025 and I'm hoping it will also be adapted to TV. This is very competent and enjoyable television and a treat for murder mystery fans.

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.

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.

I loved Magpie Murders but was concerned that a similarly complicated mystery involving two timelines and the fictional murder associated with them might prove too difficult to bring to the small screen. I was wrong.

The acting is superb; all the characters seem to be even more at home with their characters than in Magpie Murders.

The set designs are astounding considering the difficulties of the nature of the story. One in the hotel eight years earlier, one current, and one in the fictional hotel.

The cinematography is likewise excellent, and the music is supportive rather than obtrusive.

The story is, as mentioned, exceptionally complicated but was handled very well. I was particularly pleased with the Conway character knowing who murdered Parris and putting clues in his novel. Despite his general unpleasant nature, he did his best to expose the real murderer. His final scene with Susan where he insists on keeping the seemingly superfluous clues is masterful.

One of the things that annoys me in mysteries is too much time spent on character drama outside of the mystery. I thought they did a good job of keeping that to a minimum and tying it to the story.

The various mysteries were logical and reasonably solved without all sorts of twisting events into knots to achieve the ends. A common problem with most mysteries I watch these days.

Just a delight all around. Highly recommend for mystery fans.

Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders, both TV series. British light murder mysteries. If you liked Anthony Horowitz's Foyle's War, chances are you may like his current Magpie and Moonflower mysteries. These 2 separate TV shows are related, so see Magpie first, then Moonflower. Foyle's War was a great TV series. I loved it. Didn't love Magpie or Moonflower. Too Hallmark for sophisticated, hard-driving American taste. I didn't find Horowitz's mingling of fictional and non-fictional characters in the same story clever or entertaining. I didn't find Horowitz's mingling of past and present storylines in the same story amusing. If these nuisances were supposed to be plot twists, they didn't do it for me. It's hard to follow a brilliant murder mystery like Foyle's War. Maybe Horowitz needs to step up his mysteries to match our post-Covid harsher, more graphic taste in movies.

I enjoyed Moonflower Murders even more than the PBS production of Magpie Murders, probably because I've been to all the locales where the film was made. Both are mysteries-within-mysteries but the Moonflower series had so many enjoyable features I love: excellent cast, beautiful settings, glorious Greek Islands, 3 hotels (wonderful armchair getaways), clever plotting, even humor. I watched the first 4 of 6 episodes in all seriousness but I started laughing during Ep 5 and 6; sorry! I'm reading the novel now, very nice. I especially enjoy author Horowitz's comments on PBS after each episode - aspiring novelists would do well to listen to what he has to say. I detected one of two killers in record time: the first scene in which that character appeared; also, I detected a flaw that would never happen in real life, but I can't include those details without spoiling the conclusion for you. Moonflower is escapist fun, with clever puzzles, endearing Atticus Pund and a 2d charming "detective" - OPA!

I love the premise of this series and many of the quirky details, but there is so much storyline that has been done to death in other shows. Too frequently, you know where stuff is heading, especially as some clues seem a bit forced when they are thrown in, immediately flagging certain characters. Whilst the concept and casting is clever, it is also confusing because there's sooo much of it! Understandably with the book tie in, quite a lot of the content is narrative and flashback, but this adds to the discombobulation - I defo have binge watch to follow it all.

On the upside, I really loved the last scene - but get your glasses on for the very tiny final reveal!

I really enjoyed this, but I'm glad I watched it on BBC iPlayer, as it meant I could stop, start and go back a bit to check things I might have missed. You really need your wits about you with the different timelines and actors playing two roles. That was a fun aspect of the series. What wasn't so much fun was Susan's private life and her completely irrelevant sister and nephew. Crete provided some pretty pictures and it meant they got some funding from the Greek government, but it was also unnecessary. This should really have been a four-part serial. There was no need for six episodes. Horowitz is a clever man and the plot - while not totally convincing (others have spotted holes) is full of interesting touches. On a more mundane level, there are some anachronisms, such as "gotten" in the mouth of an 1950s' character. Also the fact that Ireland was used to stand in for England shows through at times - most crassly in the form of a bright yellow "road narrows" sign (Ireland has American-style road signs). The fact that it was Ireland was probably the reason that Susan was mostly seen driving down unmarked single-track roads. Other roads would have had markings and street furniture that gave away the true location.

I didn't like this series quite as much as the "Magpie Murders", but it was still quite enjoyable, and I wished there had been more than six episodes, just as I wished there had been more of "Magpie".

Susan Ryeland and Atticus Pünd are once again trying to solve murders in two different time periods. Herr Pünd has a new amusing assistant this time, and Ms. Ryeland is also dealing with family and personal matters. Her relationship with her boyfriend Andreas seemed fitting to be explored in the episodes, but her sister's problems seemed out-of-place in the series.

At one point in a meeting in a restaurant, where neither of the two main characters were present, the conversation got sleazy, but that was the only low point of the story. Having the characters play different roles in the two different time periods is quite interesting, but wasn't as noticeable this time as it was in "Magpie".

You can watch these PBS episodes for free with the PBS app for a limited amount of time, after they are originally broadcasted on Sunday night. After that time, you need the PBS Passport, which requires a large donation. It's cheaper to just get a PBS subscription with Prime Video.

This isn't a straight forward murder mystery. You have the disappearance of Cecily MacNeil in the current period, the murder of Frank Parris seven years earlier, the murders in the mystery novel and the lead character Susan Ryeland's family drama. And it keeps flipping between the stories using some of the same actors in different parts. It's a 6 episode series that should have been 4 episodes at the most. And I found the ending underwhelming.

I'm a fan of Leslie Manville and in general I like the caste, but the script is very poor. It's not the quality of even an Agatha Christie or a Dorothy Sayers mystery. I'm surprised that PBS bought into it, they normally back only top quality crime dramas.

There is a huge demand for crime dramas, but buyer beware they're not all equal. ITV, BBC and AMC/Acorn have the better crime dramas, ones like "Grace", "Vera", "Grantchester", "Shetland" and past ones like "Morse", "Lewis"... And there are even good ones from the Continent on MHz network.

The filming locations are terrific, but they don't make up for a bad script.

Horowitz did a good job with Foyle's War, but this time he fails totally. The concept of parallel plots set in the fifties and the present, with mostly the same actors, just does not work. The plot itself is magnificently boring anf unengaging, which is made worse by some of the least convincing acting I've seen in decades.

I'm especially annoyed by the world-class abd acting from Daniel Mays, Conleth Hill and Tim McMullan - none of them would get a part in a local village am-dram society panto production for charity. Beyond lousy!

The most annoying part, though, (apart from the woke casting) is the fact that "Pünd" who is supposed to be foreign of sorts, doesn't know how to pronounce his own name. The umlaut ¨ sign changes "poont" to "pynt" (phonetic approximation), nothing else.

All in all, a boring time-waster.

I have not read the book, or seen the earlier series. I cannot believe that the writer of the the brilliant Foyles War had any involvement with this. Absolute rubbish. Unlikeable characters all wound up in totally confusing and unexplained situations. I gave up after the end of the first part.

Like a lot of these series, they are soaps dressed up as drama/who done its. All family in - fighting that it's difficult to comprehend that the people have stayed alive to the current day. Or at the very least are still even talking to each other. It seems these days that on TV at least, there is no such thing as happy households. Bring back Foyle.

I tend to disagree with previous respondents. I believed those series was every bit as good as The Magpie Murders. The character of Susan came across as unlikeable. Deliberately intentional ? Nobody like somebody poking into affairs which should be left to rest.

The production values, lighting, camera angles and set building were all to drawer.

The costumes were nicely produced and the characters well rounded. Except for the two police detectives. Which were heavily caricatured.

There was one thing I found confusing. If the character of Atticus Bund was just an ' alter ego ' to Susan. Then surely so was Madeline Cain. And in that event how could she commit a crime ?

A hole in the script ?

Watched on my national streaming channel. It's free (claimed to be free but I believe it's the tax we pay plus the commercial sponsorships that feed it) and you can watch some unpopular tv shows/movies. I never thought it would be as good as it was supposed to be. I've watched several crime & mystery tv shows/movies, they were very disappointing because they made each crime too easy to be solved and there was a lack of depth. This has been the best I've ever watched. Great suspense, great crime investigations, lots of tv drama making crime solving less boring. If it was just about solving a crime, it would be a bit boring (quoted from episode 2). Thats how you film a suspense and crime series/movie. It's a limited series so only season 1 was planned, what a pity.