Book Review: You Feta Watch Out by Linda Reilly (Grilled Cheese Mysteries #5)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Characters we love; Good mystery; Christmas spirit

Cons: I’m not Scrooge

The Bottom Line:

When actor is killed

Carly steps in to clear friend

Strong Christmas spirit

Who Made Sure Marley Really Was Dead as a Doornail?

I hadn’t expected to get a Christmas entry in Linda Reilly’s Grilled Cheese Mysteries this year until You Feta Watch Out crossed my radar. I’m so glad it did since this was a fun entry in the series. 

This Christmas, a theater company has come to town to put on a production of A Christmas Carol. While Carly Hale is focusing on her grilled cheese diner, her friend Gina has joined the cast as a background extra, singing in some of the caroling scenes. Gina’s been excited, so when Carly gets a chance to attend the dress rehearsal, she jumps at it. 

It’s at the dress rehearsal that Carly discovers the flaw in the cast, Preston Lennon, who is playing Jacob Marley. Preston is so disruptive that the production must take an early intermission. But things get worse when Gina finds Preston’s dead body in his dressing room. The evidence seems to point to Gina as the suspect. Can Carly prove her friend’s innocence?

This isn’t the first time I’ve read about a production of A Christmas Carol in a Christmas cozy mystery. I appreciated that it was the actor playing Jacob Marley who was the victim this time. It was a fun little tweak. 

The plot itself is good. We have more than enough reasons to dislike Preston, which means there are enough suspects to keep us guessing. I didn’t figure out what was going on until the end. But the killer and motive made sense when Carly figured it out. 

And the characters are fantastic. I like how author Linda Reilly is progressing their lives in logical ways. The series regulars are fun to be around, and the suspects were believable as well. I also appreciate that, while Carly does get a few warnings to be careful, people don’t pile on her like they did in the previous book in the series. 

I was reading this book at the beginning of November so I’d have enough time to review it around release date. Even so, it put me in the Christmas spirit. I was wishing I had my trees up already so I could be reading it while enjoying them. I’m not sure I’d want to try the new grilled cheese sandwich featured here, but I appreciate the theming there as well. 

Speaking of which, the recipe for that and an appetizer is at the end of the book. 

If you are looking for a Christmas cozy, you’ll be glad you picked up You Feta Watch Out. Grill up a sandwich and enjoy. 

Be sure to savor the rest of the Grilled Cheese Mysteries. 

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book. 

TV Show Review: The Amazing Race - Season 36

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: They go to some amazing places

Cons: The race part is rather boring

The Bottom Line:

South America

Plays host to boring season

For diehards only

The Locations Were Amazing.  The Race, Not So Much

My entire family loves The Amazing Race, so we considered one of the positives from the recent strikes to be the fact that we got two seasons of the show in the 2023-2024 TV season.  Unfortunately, season 36 of the show was a disappointment, especially after the return to Amazing Race form that was season 35.

This season had to overcome the fact that it was filmed in the fall of 2022.  Countries were just starting to really open up again after Covid, so all the filming and planning restrictions we’d seen in seasons 33 and 34 were still in place.  While the show didn’t advertise it, the contestants were all traveling on chartered flights instead of finding their own way.  And the teams were starting each leg in heats.  That meant there was little chance for a team that was behind to catch up.  There were some ranking changes, but they were few and far between.  This was my complaint about the other Covid seasons.  With little in the way of taxis and public transportation being used, the teams tended to go from one task to another without any of the drama that makes the show fun.

This really hurt season 36 since season 35, which was filmed in the spring of 2023, was back to the original format where teams had to book their own flights and had bottlenecks were teams could all catch up.  This season had none of those.

Additionally, the teams weren’t that inspiring.  It was obvious early on who the strongest teams were, and so the show had little in the way of suspense or surprises.  There were several teams I was actively rooting against, but the rest of the teams were okay.  There just wasn’t anything to make us want to root for them.  Once again, the episodes were 90 minutes.  In this case, I’m not sure if that hurt or helped, especially since the season was originally created for the traditional 60 minute run time.

On the other hand, they went to some amazing places.  The season started outside the US, starting in Mexico.  From there, we spent most of the season in South America, wrapping up in the Caribbean before returning to Philadelphia.  There were a couple of tasks that I didn’t quite follow, and the teams seemed to avoid those, so we didn’t get to see how it was supposed to work.  The armchair travel is always fun even if the racing parts aren’t.

My family pretty much agrees with me on this.  While this was better than no season of The Amazing Race, it was definitely at or near the bottom of the show.  If you are a casual fan, skip this one in favor of a more entertaining season.  But if you’ve seen them all but this one, turn it on keeping in mind the weaknesses.

Book Review: Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters we come to care for

Cons: Lacks focus, so feels disjointed

The Bottom Line:

Chasing Narnia

But plenty else going on

The book lacks focus

Mixed Journey of Self-Discovery

The first time I read The Chronicles of Narnia back in 3rd grade, I fell in love with them. So when I heard about Once Upon a Wardrobe, a novel about CS Lewis and the creation of the series, I was curious. Sadly, the book tried to do too much and fell short for me. 

The year is 1950, and Megs is in her first year at Oxford. She still goes home on weekends, however, to her small village so she can spend time with her younger brother. George has had a weak heart all of his life, and the doctors can’t do anything for him. 

George’s world has been enhanced by the books he reads, and someone has given him a copy of the recently released The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. He’s obsessed, and he wants to know where Narnia comes from. Meg’s will do anything for her brother, so she sets out to see if she can get the answer from C.S. Lewis. But what will she find if she meets the author? 

This book has a lot going on. There’s the story of Megs in the “present,” then there’s what’s going on with George. And, of course, the flashbacks to Lewis’s life. Unfortunately, it doesn’t balance them well. We get some vignettes from Lewis’s life from boyhood to young adult, but many of them are summarized stories for us and don’t really let us get to know much about him. Several of the things that happen in the 1950 storyline are illogical. Don’t get me wrong, I liked them, but they didn’t feel plausible. 

Ultimately, this is a coming of age tale for Megs. Again, I liked where it ended up, but it didn’t quite feel like it worked from what we were being given. 

I think part of this is that the basic premise, where did Narnia come from, is a weird question. Especially since the novel kinds of skirts around, giving us all the answers without giving us any definite answers. Trust me, this makes sense when you’ve read it. 

Ultimately, I feel like this is a book where the author had a grand theme planned, but she couldn’t quite pull off her vision. I’m not quite sure how it could have been fixed. Maybe cut out so much about Megs and her personal life? But that was a storyline I really enjoyed. 

Because, don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the characters. And the book did make me cry a few times. There is something good in here, but it doesn’t work like it should. 

In the end, Once Upon a Wardrobe is a book you should pick up if you are curious about it. I’m not sorry I read it. But I wish the author had focused just a bit more on a core story. It would have helped cement things. 

Movie Review: The Jungle Book (2016)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Mostly enjoyable; amazing visuals

Cons: Christopher Walken, darker tone

The Bottom Line:

New take on classic

Adds some interesting parts

Darker overall

Disney’s Newest Jungle Book Remake Offers a Slightly Different Take on the Tale

Near the beginning of Disney’s recent live action remake craze came The Jungle Book.  No, I’m not talking about the ones they released in the 1990’s (which I never have seen); I’m talking about the one from 2016.  Unlike the some of the other early ones, this one stuck close to the animated original, but made a few tweaks to the story.

The set up is definitely familiar.  Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is a man cub raised by wolves.  Despite his best efforts, he has never been able to quite fit into his pack because, well, he’s human.  However, when Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba) shows up planning to kill the boy, Mowgli gets off with Bagheera the panther (voiced by Ben Kingsley).  What will happen to them along the way?

As I said, if you think you know the story, be prepared for a few surprises along the way.  I appreciated many of them as they helped flesh out Mowgli and especially his relationship with the wolves a bit more.  Shere Khan is a much more fearsome and present villain in this take on the story, another change I appreciated.

Of course, there was the time I spent expecting certain events or characters from the animated film to pop up.  I kept having to remind myself that this was a different take on things and it was okay that it was different.  It’s not like Disney didn’t really change things around when they made the original animated movie based on some unconnected short stories.

I’ve fallen into Disney’s trap so far by referring to this as a live action movie.  It really isn’t.  Mowgli is real, but everything he is interacting with, including the sets, is computer generated.  They do a marvelous job.  It’s easy to turn off your brain and believe that everything you are seeing is real.  The animals do have just a hint of animation to them, making their speaking seem more natural than in the computer animated The Lion King remake.

And I have to give praise to Neel Sethi.  He was interacting with nothing as his part of the film was made, but I believed his performance completely.  It’s real and helps ground the movie for us.

The voice cast is good.  I enjoyed Bill Murray as Baloo.  Scarlett Johansson was fun as Kaa.  I’m realizing I’m not really a fan of Christopher Walken, and that didn’t help me enjoy his take on King Louie.

The movie does incorporate some of the songs from the original, but not all.  They aren’t a big feature of this film, and maybe that’s why a couple of them seemed out of place.  (See once again, King Louie.)  But it’s hard to go wrong with “The Bare Necessities,” and I certainly enjoyed that scene.

Parents of young kids should know that there are some intense scenes.  This movie is rated PG for a reason.  Most kids will probably be okay, but sensitive kids should still with the animated version from the 1960’s until they are ready for something more intense.  I’m sure parents will be able to judge that for their own kids.

I think that darker tone was what bothered me the most about this film.  It felt like they went needlessly dark, keeping some of the humor and fun from the original out.  That doesn’t make this film bad, but I think I prefer the animated original over this one.

I enjoyed most of what the new material added to the story, but overall, I found the newest version of The Jungle Book a little dark for my tastes.  I’m not sorry I finally watched it, but if you want a fun story, it’s best to stick with the original.

November 10th's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to this week's Sunday/Monday Post.  As usual, I will be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

We finished month end close at work successfully.  Sounds like just about everyone in the company had some extra stuff to deal with.  Fortunately for me, my extra stuff had been included the week before, so this week was a little easier.  Which meant I got to start in on the account reconciliations for the month.  The ones that have been problems before are still being difficult.  It would be nice if they fixed themselves upon occasion, wouldn't it?

Awe, the glamorous life on an accountant.

In other news, it was really windy on Wednesday.  It had died down some by Thursday.  But Wednesday was the first time in a while that they cut our power as a prevention against fires starting.  Or, I should specify, my neighbors' power.  I could look down the street, and one side had power but the other side didn't.  Fortunately, I was in the part of my complex that had power.  It's strange how they can work sometimes, isn't it?  They didn't get their power back until sometime Thursday night/Friday.  It was still off when I got home at 8:45 PM Thursday night.  The winds had pretty much died down by then, but they'd been without power for over 24 hours.

Got my car smogged Saturday morning.

Really, don't I have the most exciting life?

I was going to start some Christmas decorating this week.  I got as far as rearranging furniture in my living room, but that's it.  Hopefully, I can pull out my trees this coming week.

But today is game day (I'm typing this at 12:06 PM Saturday afternoon).  So let's get this finished so I can go and have some fun.

Pun of the Week:

Why does the stadium get hot after the game?

Because all the fans leave.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Novella Review: Sheer Window by Diane Vallere

Tuesday - TV Show Review: Moonflower Murder

Wednesday - Book Review: A Matter of Life and Depths by K.B. Jackson

Thursday - Ornament Review: N.S.E.A Protector

Friday - Book Review: The Gardener's Plot by Deborah J. Benoit

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: The Jungle Book - 2016

Tuesday - Book Review: Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan

Wednesday - TV Show Review: The Amazing Race - Season 36

Thursday - Book Review: You Feta Watch Out by Linda Reilly

Friday - Friday Post

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

Would you believe I didn't get any new books this last week?  I wouldn't have believed it either.  That doesn't mean I don't have some books to talk about.  I decided to save some so this section wasn't too long last week.  I'm really glad I did.

Let's start with an ebook collection I probably didn't need.  The Kindle set of the first 8 Dorothy Martin mysteries from Jeanne M. Dams went on sale last week.  As of my typing this, it is still $1.99.  I've read a couple of her books, and always intended to read more, so I snagged them.  Last night, over a week after I bought them, I remembered that I have a bunch of hardcovers sitting on my shelves.  So I probably already have these books.  But at that price, I don't feel too badly if I didn't need to get them.

I also got a Kindle deal on A Lack of Temperance, the first Hattie Davish mystery from Clara McKenna.  I read one of the books back when these books were first being published under the author's real name, Anna Loan-Wilsey.  I enjoyed it, but I never got back to it.  Now that I'm reading her current series published as Clara McKenna, I've been wanting to go back and read more of this earlier series.  So it was great to snag this one.

My final Kindle deal was Cue the Sun! by Emily Nussbaum.  This is a non-fiction book about the birth of reality TV.  While there are a lot of those shows I don't watch, I do watch enough that I was interesting in this book.

Now, to find the time to read all of these books.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I've been working on my last couple of ARCs for November.  And I think I'm only going to have one more ARC for the year.  Okay, so I have an ARC of a book that comes out December 24th, but is anyone going to be paying attention to book reviews around that time?  I don't think so.  I think I'll hold that one until the first week of January.  At least that's my thinking as of now.

But that's for the future.  Here's what I'm reading now.

Friday night, I finished up We Three Queens by Rhys Bowen.  This is book eighteen in her Royal Spyness series, set in England in the 1930's.  It wasn't the strongest in the series.  But I'll have about it when I publish my review in a week or so.

As I type this, I'm about 50 pages into Murder at Glenloch Hill by Clara McKenna.  Yep, the author I was talking about in the Book Haul section.  This is book six in her Stella and Lyndy series set in England in the early 1900's.  We've actually in Scotland for this book at a golf tournament.  So far, there's lot of tension, but the murder hasn't happened yet.  I'm enjoying it, although I am missing some of the supporting players who aren't on this trip.

That's it for me.  Enjoy your week!

November 9th's Weekly TV Thoughts

 Yes, Superman & Lois is missing from the list.  It was preempted in LA due to a basketball game.  And people wonder why I hate sports.  It should be airing on Sunday, so at least I'll get to watch it.

In the meantime, here is what I watched this week.

Tracker – Nothing supernatural about this one.  Or even remotely potentially.  Not to say I didn't have some issues with the violence on the screen.  Especially could have done without that ending.  Still, it was a compelling case, and I definitely didn't figure out what was going on.

The Marlow Murder Club – This episode definitely had what I was looking for in it.  The three women were working together most of the episode, and I loved their dynamic.  And the plot moved forward in some interesting ways.  Still want to see the connection between the two victims, but we are only a third into the story.  I'm very curious to see who the third victim might be as well.

Poppa’s House – I wasn't nearly as impressed with that episode as I was the first one I watched.  Just not as funny, and some of the jokes were in poor taste.  But I'm rather confused.  Did they really change the premise of the show in episode three?  We've gotten rid of the radio station completely already?  Wow!

Rescue HI Surf – I am glad to see that at least a few things are being resolved.  Or at least moving forward.  I felt like we were marking time with some of them.  We'll see if I feel that way next week.  Still not super impressed with the soap opera that the show is, but it is kind of what I expected, to be honest.

Survivor – Is it me, or do plans to vote out certain people not stay in place for more than a day.  When this episode started, we were looking at getting rid of one tribe.  But as soon as their preferred target was safe, they scrambled and turned on each other.  Not that I’m complaining.  Makes for great TV.  And I like the guy who is winning immunity.  I don’t want to see him gone, but I get why they would be gunning for him.  I would be, too, if I were playing.

The Challenge – Have a seen a purge before?  I don’t think so, but I could be wrong.  Really ups the stakes for that challenge, doesn’t it?  The heat seemed to make that mini-final extra brutal.  I was feeling for them struggling.  The elimination was quite inventive as well.  I was impressed with how well they both did at squeezing through the tubes.

Happy’s Place – I loved this episode.  It was nice to see them mixing up the characters who were paired up.  As show that can do that successfully has real legs.  Lots of laughs and smiles as I watched.  And some real heart warming moments, too.

Book Review: The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit (Maggie Walker #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: The setting and main characters are good 

Cons: The plot was very uneven

The Bottom Line:

Body in garden

Plus search for a missing friend

Uneven debut

Debut Wasn’t Quite Ready to Bloom

When I saw that The Gardener’s Plot, the debut mystery from Deborah J. Benoit, had won a contest from Minotaur Books and Mystery Writers of America to be published, I immediately took note. There have been a few series that were first published that way that became favorites of mine. Sadly, this doesn’t look like it will be one of them. 

The book introduces us to Maggie Walker, who has inherited her grandmother’s house in a small town in the Berkshires. She’s long been a gardener, so when she is asked to help Violet with the new community garden, Maggie jumps in with both feet. But the morning of the grand opening, Violet is nowhere to be found. Then, a member of the community finds a boot in his plot in the community garden. A boot attached to a dead body. With the police thinking Violet might have something to do with it, Maggie’s set out to find her friend and prove she is innocent. But can she do it?

I feel like there is a good story here, but it needed some polish before it was ready to be published. Take the first chapter. We were introduced to a couple of different characters, and I had a hard time figuring out who was important and why. As the book progressed, I continually found myself realizing that assumptions or connections I made when something was introduced wasn’t necessarily true. The problem was the writing was vague, with the added information being filled in later. And this isn’t a matter of Maggie learning something she didn’t know to unravel the mystery but a case of the full information not being given to us. I get it. It’s easy to think what you mean to say is obvious. I’ve felt that way with the little bit of fiction I’ve done. But it is frustrating when these things haven’t been smoothed out in subsequent drafts so when a reader isn’t confused when he or she sits down to read the story. 

Speaking of story, the pacing was off. Maggie’s investigation starts out well, but then she starts reploughing the same ground. I get that this can happen in real life, but as a reader it was frustrating when I felt the story wasn’t moving forward. Things do come together for a strong and logical climax. 

The main characters are strong. I really enjoyed spending time with them. Unfortunately, the suspects tended to blend together. Again, by the end the killer and motive are clear. But more time with them would have been helpful. 

I also really enjoyed the setting. Even though I can’t grow plants, I enjoyed hearing about the various gardens. The town seems warm and friendly, the kind of place I’d love to spend more time fictionally. 

It’s a shame I struggled with this book overall since I really do feel like the premise and main characters could have been something I would love. But the execution didn’t work for me. 

Others seem to be enjoying The Gardener’s Plot more than I did, so maybe the problem was me. If the premise intrigues you, consider picking it up. Unfortunately, I think this series isn’t for me. 

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book. 

Ornament Review: N.S.E.A Protector - 2024 Hallmark Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: By Grabthar’s hammer, this is a great ornament!

Cons: Whoever lists any cons should die!

The Bottom Line:

Galaxy Quest fans

Will enjoy this ornament

Of the Protector

Never Give Up, Never Surrender…Until You Get This Ornament

While I do have quite a few Star Wars ornaments in my collection, it’s been a while since I added any new ones or paid any attention to Hallmark’s science fiction ornaments in general.  I happily made an exception this year to add the N.S.E.A. Protector to my collection.

If you aren’t familiar with this ship, you need to immediately go and watch the movie Galaxy Quest.  I’ll be here when you get back.

All good?

Now, you know why I wanted to add this movie to my collection.  I’ve loved that movie since I saw it in the theater, so a chance to add the ship to my ornaments was a no brainer.  And this ornament is great.  It looks just like the ship does in the film.  Okay, so it’s not necessarily that different from any other space ship, but the design is a little sleeker, at least in my mind.  I appreciated that, in addition to the paint identifying it as the Protector, it includes the National Space Exploration Administration logo.

And any fan of the movie will be thrilled.  While we are a loyal fan base, we don’t have a ton of merchandise, so it’s nice to get this ornament.  It makes me smile to look at it.

Being a space ship, this ornament isn’t that exciting if you just set it out.  I mean, it does sit okay, and it rests at a bit of a fun angle.  It looks like it is about to head up as it flies through space.  But it isn’t very tall, so it is easy to overlook.

Which is why you’ll want to hang this ornament even if you aren’t putting it on your tree.  It hangs straight, and it looks great – like it is ready to fly off into a new adventure.

Any fan of Galaxy Quest will be thrilled to add the N.S.E.A. Protector to their Christmas tree.  I know I am.

Book Review: A Matter of Life and Depths by K.B. Jackson (Cruising Sisters Mysteries #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: A different set up used well for character development

Cons: Takes a bit to know suspects; the minor subplot with the great-grandmother

The Bottom Line:

Mistress is onboard

Outstanding character growth

Creative setup

Charlotte Must Face Her Pain Head on

As you’ve figured out by now (since I talk about it quite a bit), I love to pair books with real life when I can. When I got a chance to take a cruise, it worked out perfectly for me since I was already planning to read A Matter of Life and Depths, the second cruising Sisters Mystery from K.B. Jackson. 

When this book picks up, Charlotte and her sister, Jane, have spent a few months living in the suite on the residential cruise ship Charlotte learned she owned after her husband died. Their latest destination in Japan, and it fits well for Charlotte, who is reading the diary left behind by her great-grandmother that details her time in that country. 

But what Charlotte didn’t expect to find is that Kyrie Dawn and her toddler son, Quinton, are on board. Kyrie Dawn was her late husband’s mistress and Quinton was their son. Kyrie Dawn has returned to the ship to become the new yoga instructor. Charlotte isn’t happy with this latest development, needless to say. 

And then a murder happens. And Charlotte finds herself getting involved in the investigation for a reason she never would have guessed. Can she figure out what happened?

Now, let’s be honest - I’ve read books where you see “husband’s mistress” and “murder mystery,” and you can guess the set up. I’ve read that plot before and enjoyed it. But that’s not what we get here, and I loved the book for that. It really did allow Charlotte a chance to grow, and that growth was fantastic. Maybe a little unrealistic, but I am more than willing to let that pass because I like it. The story also allowed us some growth in other characters as well. 

I will say the core group of suspects took a little bit of time to distinguish themselves in my mind. Once again, they were introduced in a group, and that always makes it hard. But as the book went along, we got to know them better, and those problems went away for me. This was how the first book worked for me as well, so I wasn’t super surprised.

And the mystery itself? There were some good twists and red herrings along the way to the logical climax. 

I will say I didn’t quite follow what was happening with the great-grandmother in the diary Charlotte was reading. I get what the author was aiming for theme wise, but I feel like that could have been left out and the story would have been stronger for it. But that’s a minor point since this is a very minor subplot.

While I wouldn’t call this a humorous cozy, there were some absolutely great lines and moments that made me laugh as I read. And the setting is fantastic. 

All told, I did enjoy Charlotte and Jane’s second mystery. If you are looking for something that breaks the mold, you’ll be glad you picked up A Matter of Life and Depths. 

NOTE: I received a copy of this book. 

TV Show Review: Moonflower Murders - Season 2

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Characters and mystery shine

Cons: Pace slows in a couple of episodes

The Bottom Line:

Susan back for more

Second intriguing story

Show is worth watching

Strong Second Case for Susan

As much as I enjoyed Magpie Murders when the TV version aired on PBS, I still haven’t managed to read any of author Anthony Horowitz’s books. But that just meant I was even more excited for Moonflower Murders, the second story featuring editor Susan Ryland when it came to PBS. It didn’t disappoint. 

This season picks up a little while after the first story ended. Susan (Lesley Manville) has now retired from being an editor and is running a hotel on Crete with her partner, Andreas (Alexandros Logothetis). Well, I should say trying to run a hotel. Things seem to constantly be going wrong, and the stress is getting to her. 

That’s why Susan pays attention when two strangers show up looking for her. They are the parents of a woman who has gone missing. They think her disappearance is related to something she read in a book - an Atticus Pund book that Susan edited and was based on a real incident that happens in the hotel they run back in England. They are offering Susan money to come back and see if she can figure out what happened to their daughter. How can Susan refuse? But will she find anything?

This season has the same conceit that the first did. Part of each episode takes place in the present as Susan goes about her investigation. The rest takes place in the 1950’s as we watch Pund (Tim McMullan) take on the fictional case he is working on. Most of the actors play dual roles in both storylines. Honestly, I gave up trying to track them in both timelines and just followed the stories separately. 

And they were both intriguing mysteries. There were so many interesting suspects and varying motives that I was kept guessing. I did feel the pacing lagged a little in a couple of episodes that got caught up in some drama in Susan’s personal life. Or maybe the fact that I hated those developments colored by judgement of them. However, that last episode? It blew me away with how intricately things had been plotted all the way along. 

I was happy to get to visit Susan again, and I liked the way a few other characters from the first season were worked in again. The new crop of characters were intriguing, as I already said. 

All of this is held together by great acting. Those playing dual roles are great at it, but there isn’t a weak link in the cast. 

As with the first story, there are six episodes to this season that are roughly 50 minutes or so. Since this is based on a novel, the story reaches a great end and I feel like things are wrapped up well. Of course, a third novel in this series is coming out next year. I’m hoping that means we’ll get it in TV form soon. 

If you are looking for a well plotted TV mystery, you won’t go wrong with Moonflower Murders. It will keep you entertained until the last minute.