If Midsomer Murders is your kind of television, the BBC’s latest mystery series may already have your attention.

Marble Hall Murders has arrived on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, bringing Lesley Manville back as book editor turned amateur sleuth Susan Ryeland. The six-part drama comes from writer Anthony Horowitz, whose long connection to British mystery television makes the series an especially appealing choice for fans of classic whodunnits.

The story follows Susan as she returns to England and takes on a seemingly unusual editing job. She is asked to work on a continuation of the fictional Atticus Pünd detective novels, written by a troubled young author. Before long, however, the fictional mystery begins to overlap with a real murder investigation — and Susan unexpectedly finds herself a suspect.

That blend of literature and crime is one of the show’s defining features.

Tim McMullan also returns as Atticus Pünd, the fictional detective at the heart of the books Susan is editing. His character’s investigation unfolds inside the novel itself, while Susan deals with the increasingly complicated mystery in the real world.

The new case takes viewers to Corfu, where Atticus becomes involved in the murder of Lady Margaret Chalfont. He investigates her wealthy family alongside a Greek detective, while Susan attempts to understand how the fictional story connects to the events surrounding her own investigation.

For viewers who enjoy traditional British crime drama, that setup offers plenty of familiar ingredients: suspicious families, country houses, buried secrets, eccentric characters and multiple possible suspects.

But Marble Hall Murders also adds an unusual twist through its story-within-a-story structure.

The series is the third and final television adaptation of Horowitz’s Susan Ryeland novels, following Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders. All three adaptations star Manville as Susan, with McMullan playing Atticus Pünd.

Early reviews have been enthusiastic about the show’s embrace of traditional British crime fiction. The Times described it as a celebration of the genre, while The Guardian highlighted Manville’s performance as Susan and called the mystery “odd and intriguing.”

Viewers have also been sharing positive reactions online, with reports highlighting comments calling the series “brilliant” and “fabulous,” while others have praised the chemistry between Manville and McMullan.

The connection to Midsomer Murders is particularly fitting because Horowitz has long been associated with British crime storytelling. His work has helped shape the kind of intricate, character-driven mysteries that remain popular with audiences who enjoy solving the case alongside the detectives.

And Marble Hall Murders clearly understands that appeal.

With its literary puzzles, sprawling family mystery and layers of clues, the series offers another chance to settle in and start asking the most important question in any good whodunnit:

Who really did it?

For fans of classic British mysteries, Susan Ryeland may have arrived at exactly the right time.

Source: Various sources.