Death Doesn't Stop for Lunch in 'A Taste For Murder's Premiere
The art of a great recipe is to make the familiar seem exceptional: to combine an egg with other flavors until it is time to reveal itself as the object of desire.
A, Taste For Murder, BritBox’s new mystery series, which debuts today with the first two episodes, takes us to the gorgeous Mediterranean landscapes we visited in writer Matt Baker and director Jon Jones’ Hotel Portofino. This time, we’re firmly in the modern world, and in Capri, where the action centers on the Da Vinale restaurant, a family affair run by Elena da Vinale (Phyllis Logan) and chef Gennaro Da Vinale (Urbano Barberini). Brace yourself for some luscious food and scenery, and also for some murder. Every episode contains a recipe as a bonus, hence the first episode’s name, “Uova in Purgatorio” (Eggs in Purgatory).
The art of a great recipe is to make the familiar seem exceptional: to combine an egg with other flavors until it is time to reveal itself as the object of desire.
The series opens with British copper DCI Joe Mottram (Warren Brown), grieving for his wife, Sofia, killed in London in a hit-and-run accident. He now struggles to raise their teenage daughter, Angelica (Beau Gadsdon), so when her grandparents invite them for a recuperative visit to Da Vinale, he accepts, and the two head to a place where sunshine, kindness, and excellent food will help heal Angelica and their son-in-law.
At the same time, since this is a mystery series, dark deeds occur just off the Capri coast. Matteo Capasso (Veran Miler) steers his boat to a rocky outcrop and picks up Nico Massi (Vlasto Ivanovic) on a cocaine delivery. A buoy marks the location of the floating box, but soon after they’ve opened it, Matteo kills Nico with a hammer blow to the head and pushes his body overboard. However, when Matteo uses a flashlight to signal his location, he is shot. The boat and its cargo of corpses and cocaine are sighted, and a loud foghorn announces that the police launch is on the hunt.
It wakes up Joe, who gets up for a run, a regular habit that is more than keeping fit. Angelica is wearing headphones, on her phone, annoyed by his interruptive invite to come to the beach. “With you?” she asks rudely, and then agrees to accompany him.
The beach is crowded and noisy, and Joe is distracted by the police launch coming into view, suggesting they hire paddleboards. Angelica refuses, so he goes alone and finds himself in a small cove where the smugglers’ boat is being examined by the police, Inspector Lara Sarrancino (Cristiana Dell’Anna) and Deputy Inspector Gianni Gallo (Marouane Zotti). They tell him to go away; this is a crime scene, and he respectfully withdraws.
When Joe returns to his daughter, he finds her with an Italian teenage boy, Daniele Russo (Alessandro Bedetti), and firmly sends him on his way. Joe gazes longingly at the police launch as they return to the restaurant. Angelica goes straight out again, and Elena and Gennaro urge Joe to follow her. But he’s given up trying. Gennaro becomes even more upset that neither Joe nor his daughter cooks (they rely on a microwave), and they don’t eat together. Sacrilege! Elena suggests it’s high time Joe learns, giving him a cookbook Sofia helped put together.
The next morning, Joe wanders into the kitchen and tentatively asks if he can help. Gennaro’s nephew Luca (Alessandro Fella) teaches him how to peel shrimp. Unfortunately, Lara and Gianni have Luca arrested on suspicion of the double murder. Elena and Gennaro are upset because he’s family, and it will leave them shorthanded.
Luca has a criminal record for smuggling designer purses and has no alibi. (He spent his night off alone at his apartment, with his phone off.) Joe, Elena, and Gennaro visit the police station. Elena claims Luca barely knew either of the two dead men, although she knows Matteo’s mother and his widow, Bianca (Tea Simic).
Lara is not particularly friendly to Joe, insisting she doesn’t need his help, even after seeing his Met credentials. He proposes to make his request official, and she tells him the bullet identified the gun as a 1935 Beretta registered to Luca, and the only one of its kind on the island. She shows him a video of Luca’s boat following Matteo’s from the previous evening, but admits they have not yet found the Beretta. She’s decided the murder was a quarrel between smugglers, but Joe asks why Luca would then use a registered gun.
Joe asks to see Luca, who suggests someone else used his boat. He begs Joe to go to his apartment and find the gun, which belonged to his father; Luca, an aspiring actor, registered it so it could be used in a play. Joe doesn’t find a gun, but he finds some bullets and a picture of Luca snuggled up with the glamorous Bianca. Back in the restaurant kitchen, Daria Solistano (Gaia Scodellaro) tells Joe that Luca was her weed connection, and that the previous night she went to Luca’s room but found it empty.
Joe takes a run on a spectacular trail along the cliffs. When he returns, Angelica tells him that Daniele, insufficiently intimidated by Joe the previous day, is taking her to the Grand Hotel on the mainland, where famous Hollywood movie stars once stayed. Her mother would have loved it. She asks Joe if he’ll hire a scooter for her, and he says no, and also no to Daniele teaching her how to ride. He can’t go with her because he has things to do … and off she goes. (Points for Joe for saying no, with extra for raising a daughter who knows her own mind.) Angelica enjoys her day out with Daniele, who has so far revealed himself to be kind and respectful.
Joe heads to the police station and tells Luca to start talking. He admits he was on his boat with Bianca, no drugs involved, but he won’t let her give him an alibi, since Matteo was violent and jealous, and the two had fought. Joe returns to the restaurant late, and, in a lovely scene, Gennaro offers to cook, making uova in purgatorio as Joe remembers his wife cooking it for him.
The next day, Joe and Elena pay a condolence call to Signora Capasso’s house. Bianca answers the door, but tells Joe she can’t talk. He produces the photo of her with Luca, but she denies everything and shuts the door. At the restaurant, Elena shows Angelica photos of Sofia as a teenager and gives her a locket she once owned.
Joe checks with Dante Patalano (Matteo Franco), who manages the theater props, and should know where the gun is. Unfortunately, he can’t find it, but he gives Joe a video of the play (Romeo & Juliet) to prove it was there. Joe notes Lady Capulet (Bianca) gets a lot of camera time.
Joe takes the video, shot by Dante, to the station. Lara and Gianni admit Dante was the last person Matteo called. The three rush to Dante’s apartment, only to find him having fallen from his balcony, and a large sum of cash inside. Apparently, Bianca had an affair with Dante, who knew there was bad blood between Matteo and Nico. Bianca, interested only in the money and not the men pursuing her, came for the cash and pushed Dante off the balcony.
Bianca booked an advance ticket on tonight’s ferry, so Joe, Lara, and Gianni go down to the harbor, where they run into Angelica and Daniele, who join in the chase. Bianca knocks over an elderly woman, and Angelica stays to look after her as the rest give chase. Joe and Lara finally corner Bianca, and Lara makes the arrest. “If I can chase a murderer, I can definitely ride a scooter,” Angelica tells her dad. He says he’ll think about it. They are both elated and affectionate with each other. It’s a truce!
Bianca apparently intended to revive her acting career, but Dante survived the fall and will testify against her. Joe and Lara shake hands, and, despite herself, Lara now has a bit of a crush on him. Luca is released from jail, and Joe makes his daughter uova in purgatorio to her amazement. Gennaro isn’t that impressed by Joe’s cooking, but he and Elena are thrilled to see Joe and his daughter getting along, and that’s really what this series is about.
The police work is less satisfactory – a convoluted plot that doesn’t quite make sense, with too many suspects, and a fairly ludicrous investigation. But the food, the scenery, a weekly recipe, and the sweetness of Elena, Gennaro, Joe, and Angelica will make this series a hit. Bon appetit!
A Taste For Murder continues with weekly episodes on Tuesdays through May 5, 2026.
A Taste for Murder
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