‘Moonflower Murders’ is mystery-within-a-mystery tale
“PBS’ Masterpiece” offering of “Moonflower Murders” continues the unique blend of two levels of storytelling that author Anthony Horowitz created for his book Magpie Murders. The idea of a murder story inside a murder story was because he didn’t want to do a standard mystery tale.
How that works can be seen with the six-part “Moonflower Murders” debuts at 9 p.m. Sept. 15 on Valley PBS.
The production is based on Moonflower Murders, the second novel in Horowitz’s Susan Ryeland series that was published in 2020. The structure of “Moonflower Murders” starts with former book editor Susan Ryeland (Leslie Manville) running a struggling hotel in Crete. As with the TV series version of Magpie Murders, Ryeland uses the text of mystery novelist Alan Conway to solve crimes.
This is where Horowitz got away from standard storytelling. The search for clues shows the former book editor using the pages of the novel within the novel. There are points where she begins to imagine interacting with the famous literary detective Atticus Pünd as played by Timothy McMullan.
Think of it as a mystery story wrapped in an enigmatic tale. Some of the story unfolds in the past and there are other times when the detective appears only to Ryeland in her world. McMullan likes the connection his character has with Ryeland even if no one can see it.
“I think that my relationship with Susan as it developed in series one is a very good one. We’re kind of fascinated by each other and so, I’m always so busy concentrating on her and engaging with her that it doesn’t feel awkward to me,” McMullan says.
The pair must sleuth together in “Moonflower Murders” when Ryeland and her fiancé are approached by owners of Branlow Hall, a hotel in England. They explain that a murder occurred eight years earlier at their hotel. Ryeland’s former client, mystery author Alan Conway, used the events as the basis for his mystery novel, Atticus Pünd Takes the Case.
Anthony Horowitz, the man behind the complicated detective tale, says, “We had a fantastic response to ‘Magpie’ and, speaking personally, it was a joy bringing Susan Ryeland and Atticus Pünd to life on the screen.
“There are lots of surprises in the second book, including something I’ve never done before in a murder mystery. It’s going to be great fun.”
His different style worked as the mystery-within-a-mystery “Magpie Murders” attracted more than 5.5 million viewers and has been streamed more than 3.1 million times.
Although “Moonflower Murders” deals with a noted writer of mystery novels, Horowitz is quick to point out that he has nothing in common with Alan Conway. The writer who writes the books on which the show is based is the exact opposite of him and Horowitz is having fun poking fun at the writer.
Others are also having fun with the new mystery tale. Lesley Manville says, “I had an incredible time returning to the role of the smart and feisty Susan Ryeland. Anthony Horowitz has written another ingenious adaptation, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
In addition to Manville and McMullan, returning members of the Magpie Murders cast include Alexandros Logothetis as Andreas, Daniel Mays as Locke/Chubb, Claire Rushbrook as Kate, Conleth Hill as Alan Conway, Matthew Beard as James, and Sanjeev Kohli as Sajid Khan.
The two-era time frame has resulted in some creative casting as actors often play two different roles. In one case, an actor might be a modern person who might be a publisher along with their 1950s equivalent as written in the books.
Horowitz explains, “What we get is we get the same character, the same actor, walking down the flights of stairs in the 1950s and come out of the door in the 21st century in their modern clothes and modern personae but they’re the same person.
“That’s the joy of it, and it’s one of the reasons we managed to get such a great cast, because there aren’t many programs that give people that opportunity.”
They all may be back together to play the different roles as Horowitz has completed a third book to continue what he has done with “Magpies” and “Moonflowers”. He hesitates to say how The Marble Hall Murders begins.
“If I say how it starts, it will tell you how this one finishes, so I don’t want to give anything away. It is a variation on the theme, and the book has been extremely well-received by my American publishers, my Canadian publishers, and my British publishers, and most importantly of all, by my wife,” Horowitz says. “So, I have every hope that we’ll move forward and develop it. You never know until ‘Moonflower’ has been shown, and seen, and has hopefully done well, but that’s just the hope that I have.”
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