Masterpiece’s new British mystery The Marlow Murder Club opens with retired archeologist Judith Potts (Samantha Bond, Downton Abbey) leaving her inherited mansion by the River Thames in the sleepy village of Marlow and heading for her nightly au naturel evening swim.
But when she hears a gunshot outside her neighbor’s house and calls the police to report a crime, she’s not taken seriously. And when that neighbor, an art gallery owner, appears to be missing, she has to do her own gumshoeing, including interrogating a shady antiques dealer she deems a suspect.
Johan Persson
More murders follow. Next: a kindly widower is shot dead in his home. Seeking a connection between the two crimes, Judith decides to work with the deceased’s dear friend, dog walker Suzie Harris (Jo Martin, Doctor Who), and the vicar’s overlooked wife, Becks Starling (Cara Horgan, The Sandman).
“The three of them become a very unlikely collections of sleuths,” says Bond. “Judith does the forensics thinking, Becks has a lot of local knowledge and Suzie is the impulsive bit.” The women all feel a bit lost, says Martin, “so when the Marlow Murder Club happens, it’s like a gift from heaven.”
But Detective Sergeant Tanika Malik (Natalie Dew) isn’t thinking in celestial terms as the police officer tries to stop the trio from playing detective. “She believes in us a bit more, but the rest of her team think we are all bonkers,” Martin promises. It turns out, of course, that the three are very good detectives, though the DS rightfully worries about their often reckless behavior. “Tanika,” Martin notes, “is like the calm to our stormy seas.”
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The Marlow Murder Club, Premieres Sunday, October 27, 9/8c, PBS (check local listings at pbs.org)