‘Marble Hall Murders’ Finale Suffers From Too Much Plot

We’ve reached the end of Marble Hall Murders, and the conclusions in both Pünd’s and Susan’s worlds feel unfortunately overwrought. I’d previously complained about the plot feeling thin, but the pendulum swung back hard with overstuffed, convenient plots and strains on the central character’s likeability. Both Elaine and Charles Clover accuse Susan of being “high-minded,” and although they’re arguing she shouldn’t have turned Charles in for murder, they’re not exactly wrong about her, either. Susan makes the near-fatal judgment call of letting Elaine into her home even after knowing she destroyed her flat (and stabbed Hugo, which, frustratingly, Susan doesn’t address at all). She overestimates her control of the situation and needs rescuing. It’s contrived when Blakeney shows up just in time to save Susan.

Overall, I did enjoy Marble Hall Murders; it just wasn’t as successful or engaging as the first two series. Susan is still a powerful protagonist and a great amateur sleuth, but the lack of interaction between her and Pünd hurt the buddy-detective vibe that was previously so effective.

The series’ conclusion hints this is not the last of Susan Ryeland. In the finale’s denouement, she becomes an independent publisher, and creator Anthony Horowitz teases the probable title for his next installment, Mile End Murders. If he continues Susan’s story, it may be without Pünd, who fades off-screen near the end of the episode. In their final discussion, Susan says the next book she wants to publish is Pünd’s meditation on the nature of crime, and that they’ll need to work together to write it. Maybe that’s Horowitz’s way of saying goodbye to Pünd; he sends him off with the promise of publishing his magnum opus, thereby releasing the ailing detective and completing his arc.