Susan Ryeland Reads On in the ‘Marble Hall Murders’ Premiere
The stylish editor-turned-amateur-detective Susan Ryeland returns to us in 'Marble Hall Murders' (aka part 3 of 'The Susan Ryeland Mysteries').
The stylish editor-turned-amateur-detective Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville) returns to us in Marble Hall Murders (aka part 3 of The Susan Ryeland Mysteries). If you’re here to keep faithfully watching after the first two installments, Marble Hall Murders is going to scratch your itch. Our heroine in the brown leather jacket is back doing what she does best: tenaciously solving murders with the help of her imaginary friend, fictional detective Atticus Pünd (Tim McMullan). The new season finds Susan uncovering yet another suspicious death and engaging Pünd’s help one last time.
(Or at least until someone convinces creator Anthony Horowitz to write another installment!)
After saying a pretty definitive goodbye to the quiet detective last season, Susan is surprised to see Pünd return – especially since the author who penned his novels was murdered in Season 1. The conceit of Season 3 is that the latest Pünd tale will be a continuation novel crafted by a new writer, Eliot Crace (Jamie Blackley). Eliot is trading on the fame of his deceased grandmother, Miriam Crace (Patricia Hodge), a bestselling children’s author, with the publisher hoping name recognition will inspire sales. Eliot’s first couple of novels, which Susan helped edit, weren’t very successful despite the nepotism angle.
Much like Pünd’s creator Alan Conway (Conleth Hill), Eliot takes his story inspiration from figures and events in his real life, and even plays with a few anagrams – one of Conway’s favorite Easter eggs. But unlike Conway, who only wrote about foul play, Eliot alludes to the murder of his abusive grandmother – which we see in this first episode being plotted, then executed by 12-year-old Eliot and his two siblings. Though Miriam drinks what appears to be the concoction of poisons her grandchildren mixed, then dies, it’s unclear if we’re supposed to take this at face value or if there’s more to her death.
The Editor Finds Her New Writer
Susan’s out of Crete and back in England, sans the boyfriend who saved her life and helped her untangle two separate murders. Andreas (Alexandros Logothetis) gets a quick mention when Susan admits fault to her sister Katie (Claire Rushbrook): their relationship didn’t work because she didn’t vibe with Greece, and Andreas was always busy running the hotel. Now she’s a single, unemployed lady, so Katie decides she needs a cow cat.
Susan interviews at a new publishing house where Pünd visits as an apparition in the hallway. She’s been specifically chosen for this job both because she was the editor of the original Conway series, and since she’s worked with Eliot before. She’s surprised Eliot asked for her after the relative failure of his books, and isn’t keen to work with him again. Her last experience of Eliot was a hot mess – unbathed, ornery, and problematic.
A calmer, less odiferous Eliot is happy to reconnect with Susan, and offers her the first 10,000 words he’s written of the new Atticus Pünd story. He wants to know if it’s any good. Susan agrees to read the pages and decide if she wants to be Eliot’s editor.
Pünd’s Next Tale
Eliot narrates as we enter Pünd’s world. We’re back in Greece on the island of Corfu, and Pünd is there to explore his ancestral roots before he dies from terminal illness. While there, Pünd runs into Lady Chalfont (also Hodge) and her daughter Dr. Judith Lyttleton (Laura Rogers), an archaeologist. Both Lady Chalfont and Pünd are in Corfu for their failing health, with the Lady having mere weeks to live.
Lady Chalfont confides to Pünd that she’s overheard something terrible about her second husband, American art dealer Elmer Waysmith (Mark Bonnar). She won’t go into further detail in front of her daughter, and insists Pünd visit her villa so he can advise her. He finds he can’t refuse.
Atticus turns and sees Susan’s cat; suddenly we’re back in her flat. (I will happily take any use of the cat as a transition plot device.)
Crace Family Conflicts
When Eliot returns home, his wife Gillian (Katie Clarkson-Hill) tells him his father’s there to talk and to please hold his temper. His father, Edward (also Bonnar), tries to be warm, but Eliot stays guarded. Edward informs Eliot that he’s getting divorced from his mother.
Eliot dismisses the news until he realizes it affects him personally. Edward has to sell the house, meaning Eliot and Gillian need to find a new place to live. His father plans to give them funds from the sale of the house to set themselves up, while Edward also has enough money to live on.
Eliot overreacts childishly – all his father and grandmother have ever done is hurt him. He wishes his father had never been born. It’s worth noting that Eliot’s older brother Roland (played by Luke Lambert as a teen, and Harry Lloyd as an adult), who delivered the poison to their grandmother as a young teen, seems to have a fine relationship with their father, still running the Crace estate with their uncle.
The Not-So-Charming Chalfonts
At the Chalfonts’ Villa Belmar, we meet the whole family around the breakfast table: husband Elmer (Bonnar’s American accent is unfortunate); Lady Chalfont’s arrogant son Jeffrey (Rupert Penry-Jones, also Uncle Jonathan); his wife Lola (Yasmine Al Massri, also Leila Crace), a former actress financing her way back to theater; their son Cedric (Phoenix Laroche, also Young Eliot); Judith’s husband Harry Lyttleton (Richard Goulding); and Elmer’s adult son Robert (also Lloyd). Elmer is annoyed that none of the complaining, money-focused family members can suck it up for Lady Chalfont and her health during her final summer.
Harry visits the hotel site, only to find it deserted. The two foremen explain there’s no money left, and when Harry says he has none, one of the foremen, Kristos (Manolis Emmanouel), physically threatens him. Harry asks for more time, explaining he may soon have funds coming to him.
At a cafe for lunch, Elmer and Robert talk about the art business, which Robert is neither passionate nor knowledgeable about. Elmer tells his son he only works for him because he wasn’t good at anything else. In the distance, a possible private investigator takes pictures of the two men.
The Lady’s Suspicious Death
Jeffrey brings his mother to the patio for afternoon tea, where she remarks on Elmer’s absence. Tea today will include only the Lady, Jeffrey, and her son-in-law Harry. Maria (Martha Lambiri), the Chalfonts’ household servant, prepares tea in two separate teapots. We see her put the lid on both teapots, but when she returns with a tray of sandwiches, one lid is off. She’s confused, but puts it back on.
Harry pours the Lady’s tea from the lidless pot, and for himself and Jeffrey from the main pot. After a sip of her tea, Lady Chalfont suddenly gasps and grabs her throat. She goes limp and dies, while Jeffrey says, “Mother?”
Meanwhile, lawyer Hector Lambrose (Daniel Cerqueira) and his secretary Sofia (Lydia Fleming) arrive at the villa. Maria’s a little salty with them because Lady Chalfont didn’t inform her about the appointment. Harry runs in calling Maria’s name. He’s startled to see Mr. Lambrose but says they’ve got to call the police and an ambulance. “It’s Lady Chalfont. She’s dead!”
Poison Pen Notes
- Susan meets with Elaine Carver (Amelia Bullmore), wife of her former boss Charles (who murdered Alan Conway and tried to kill her in Magpie Murders). Elaine begs Susan to be Eliot’s editor, explaining that his grandmother “destroyed him” and he’s now fallen out with his brother Roland, possibly because of the book.
- Susan decides she likes what Eliot wrote so far and wants to help him succeed.
- To begin and end the episode, young Eliot, Roland, and sister Julia (Nia Brown) chant in Latin and mix deadly ingredients. Roland and his siblings agree about “what must be done to grandma.”
Marble Hall Murders continues on Sundays at 9 p.m. on most local PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. All episodes are also available starting on premiere day for PBS Passport members.
