As this episode of Moonflower Murders begins, Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville) speaks to a passenger on the plane about Alan Conway (Conleth Hill). In a flashback, Susan meets Alan and asks about his book. Alan argues it isn’t that easy. Susan insists they have to keep up the momentum. She thought he’d be happier since he made a lot of money, has a large following, and can leave the school. Alan is just waiting for the right idea. He notices a newspaper article about Frank Parris (Mark Gatiss) and it sparks his interest. They begin discussing Frank’s death as a possible book idea. Atticus Pund (Tim McMullan) has experienced a slowdown. Miss Cain (Pippa Bennett-Warner) talks to him and learns he’s going to work on his book.

Mr. Schultz is coming in at 11. He works for the William Morris Agency and it has something to do with his client, Melissa James (Rosalie Craig). Schultz wants Pund to investigate her murder. Miss Cain explains why the case could be good for him. Schultz meets Pund and tells him about Melissa James. They talk about investigating Melissa’s death. Susan heads to Branlow Hall. Atticus Pund talks to Miss Cain about not liking machines and Nazis. Susan arrives at Branlow Hall. Lawrence Treherne (Adrian Rawlins) greets her and introduces her to Cecily’s dog Chase. It’s confirmed that Susan will be able to speak to Aiden MacNeil (Will Tudor). Cecily’s sister Lisa also wants to speak to her. Susan looks at a figeen or an Irish brooch before going to her room. She’s told the room Frank used is now used for storage. Lawrence warns Susan that Lisa can be very direct.

Susan sees Aiden arrive outside with Roxana. When she comes down, she joins Lisa and Lawrence. Lisa is the general manager. Cecily does the accounts and Aiden handles PR. Lawrence tells Susan about Roxana who is missing her mother. They were expecting when they got married. Lisa says Aiden hit the jackpot when Cecily walked into his life and he had everything handed to him. She claims Aiden doesn’t do anything. Lisa believes they got into an argument and Cecily ran off. She doesn’t like that Susan is getting paid so much to read a book. When they’re alone, Susan asks Lawrence about Lisa’s scar. He explains Lisa and Cecily threw a glass at her and it broke when they were girls. Susan returns to her room where she contacts Andreas Patakis (Alexandros Logothetis). Susan says what Alan Conway did to these people was unforgivable.

Pund and Cain arrive at the Moonflower Hotel. Maureen Gardner (Pooky Quesnel) checks them into their room. Detective Inspector Chubb (Daniel Mays) comes inside to say hello to Pund. They ask someone to bring their luggage up since Chubb is going to drive them to the scene of the crime. On their way there, Chubb says someone broke into the house and strangled Melissa between 6:28 and 6:38. Melissa called Dr. Leonard Collins at 6:28. He drove straight over and found her deceased. Chubb tells them about the possible suspects. As they arrive, Chubb explains that Melissa bought the house at the same time as the motel. She supposedly fell in love with it and paid twice the asking price. Phyllis Chandler (Joanna Bacon) tells them that John Spencer (Rupert Evans) has gone for a walk. Pund briefly speaks to Phyllis.

Chubb says Phyllis and her son, Eric Chandler (Thomas Coombes), were out on the night of Melissa’s murder. Cain notices a Turkish dagger which was used as a prop in one of Melissa’s movies. Melissa called Leonard Collins (Liam Garrigan) because she felt someone was in the house and she was in danger. The phone cord was pulled from the bedroom wall so Chubb believes Melissa called using a second telephone in the living room. They found several tissues there with Melissa’s tears. Cain gets upset and collapses. Chubb helps her find a seat. John Spencer arrives. Cain says she’ll wait in the car. John tells Chubb and Pund that he loved Melissa more than anyone in the world. John claims he was at the opera, “The Marriage of Figaro”, on the night of Melissa’s death. Melissa had a meeting with her financial advisor who was looking into the motel so John went alone.

John believes they should speak to Lance Gardner. He thinks Melissa knew Lance and his wife were cheating her. In private, Pund tells Chubb he should make sure John actually attended the opera. Chubb hadn’t thought to do that. Susan watches Locke speak to Aiden about doing a public appeal for information. When Aiden agrees to do it, he’s told the television people will be there in the morning. Susan speaks to Aiden about the public appeal. Aiden admits he’d do anything to get Cecily back. He believes Cecily does too much at the hotel. Aiden thinks her disappearance has something to do with the bloody book. Alan came to the motel to ask about Frank and his murders. Cecily was annoyed with the book and thought they should sue. Aiden thought it was harmless though.

They talk about Stefan Leonida (Alec Secareanu) and how Cecily thought he was innocent. The morning Cecily disappearance, she said she read another chapter in the book and found something. Aiden didn’t ask which chapter. Roxana enters and speaks to Susan. Derek’s mother, Gwyneth Endicott, joins them. They leave. Aiden tells Susan that Cecily wasn’t there when he came back from Ipswich. Gwyneth said she had gone out with the dog. Cecily usually walked over in Woodbridge along the River Deben. Aiden only realized something was wrong when he heard the dog barking outside the door. He had the lead on but he was alone. Susan asks what he did. Aiden quickly says he called her mobile, looked in the hotel, called her parents, and called the police. He’s been over and over this so he doesn’t want to do it again.

Susan speaks to Derek who says he feels sorry for Aiden. They talk about Frank who wasn’t polite. Derek was the key witness. Susan asks what he saw. Derek isn’t sure he should really tell her. He says he was on his own that night and didn’t go to the party. Around midnight, he heard Chase barking. The dog slept in a basket upstairs. When Derek checked on Chase, he saw Stefan rush down the hallway. Derek looked down the corridor and there was no sign of Stefan. He explains that it really looked like Stefan because the person had his hat and maintenance kit. Derek told Locke that he never saw his face, but Locke didn’t want to listen. Derek insists Stefan wasn’t stealing. There had been a lot of petty theft and it was Natasha who is out of the country now. Derek admits it upset him that Stefan took the blame, but there was nothing he could do.

It hardly mattered after Stefan confessed to the murder. Susan asks where Frank went when he got a taxi. Derek reveals he went into Framlingham where he had a meeting at a solicitor’s office, Wesley and Khan. Susan knows Sajid Khan. Susan checks on the dog and speaks to the spa manager, Liam Corby. Liam (Wade Briggs) says a woman like Cecily doesn’t just run away or go into hiding because something upset her. Susan mentions that Frank lived in Australia. Liam argues that doesn’t mean they met. He was friends with Stefan. He doesn’t know whether Stefan did it although it seems likely. Liam tells her to enjoy her stay and massages are on the house. Susan returns to her room and reads Alan’s book. In the book, Atticus decides to visit Dr. Collins. Chubb tells him Algernon Marsh is Collins’s brother-in-law.

Pund notices Algernon’s vehicle has been hit. Inside, Samantha Collins (Jeany Spark) offers them cake. Pund asks Leonard how well he knew Melissa James. Leonard says he knew her as well as anyone. Samantha believes Melissa took advantage of him by calling him day or night. She also came by and never seemed to care that Leonard had other patients. The hotel had been losing money and Melissa blamed the Gardners. The hotel was always full, but it never showed a profit. Melissa also told Leonard that she was being watched at home. She thought small things were being taken from her room. Melissa wouldn’t say what was taken. Samantha was there when Melissa called Leonard on the day she died. He had just finished surgery when Samantha answered the phone. Melissa told Leonard that he wants to kill her and he’s still there.

It took Leonard ten minutes to get there. Leonard believes Melissa said there was a man in the house. Samantha agrees Melissa was in fear for her life. Leonard leaves they’re going back to the Moonflower. Next, Samantha wonders if they should’ve told them about the money. Leonard argues it doesn’t have anything to do with any of this. He says Melissa didn’t know anything about it and no one did. Samantha believes they should leave. Leonard says this is a chance for them to get away from Tawleigh. He says they can go wherever Samantha wants to go. He just wants to be with her. Susan speaks to Pund about working things out. She doesn’t think the book has anything in it. Pund says there’s something that’s the same. As soon as he reached Tawleigh, he suspected something was wrong.

It was like a sense of evil in the air. Pund believes it’s there as well. He warns Susan that she better be careful.

 

Moonflower Murders Review

The second episode of Moonflower Murders was a bit longwinded considering how little it pushed the story forward. The series has little originality since there are so many shows like this. The primary difference is that Moonflower Murders has scenes in the present and scenes based in novels.

Both types of scenes can be equally interesting, but the scenes in the present are more authentic and better acted. The scenes in the novel are really over-the-top like they’re in a bad gangster movie. Actors and actresses who are typically great come across as forced and corny in the novel scenes.

Sadly, the series depends heavily on those scenes to stand apart and move things forward. This isn’t for everyone, but it is for many who love these British crime dramas. The episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Moonflower Murders can be found here.

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