BBC's Moonflower Murders - episodes, plot and cast including The Crown and Line of Duty stars

Lesley Manville plays Susan Ryeland in the upcoming BBC crime drama Moonflower Murders.
-Credit: (Image: BBC)


The BBC will air it's new cosy murder mystery Moonflower Murders this week, following a woman who must uncover the truth 'hidden in plain sight' when her 'idyllic' life in Crete is threatened by a grizzly murder committed eight years ago. The detective drama - based on the Anthony Horowitz novel of the same name - will air on the BBC on Saturday, November 16 at 9:15pm.

Moonflower Murders is the sequel to the popular Magpie Murders, and will see many of the cast return including Lesley Manville as editor-turned-sleuth Susan Ryeland. The series follows Susan as her new life in sunny Crete is put in peril by a baffling unsolved murder committed eight years ago at a British country hotel.

The six-part series has been described as 'gloriously entertaining' and 'inventive' and features a star-studded cast. Here's everything you need to know about the BBC's new series Moonflower Murders.

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What is Moonflower Murders about?

Susan Ryeland is an editor-turned-slueth living an 'idyllic' life in Crete which is quickly disturbed by a mysterious unsolved murder. Author Anthony Horowitz said there were 'lots of surprises' in store for viewers ahead of the show's release.

Ahead of the release, the BBC teased: "Susan has left publishing and is living in Crete with her long-time boyfriend, Andreas. But her idyll is disturbed by the shadow of a murder committed at a British country hotel eight years ago.

"Alan Conway visited the hotel and wrote a novel based on what happened there. Cecily Treherne, the young woman who helps run the hotel, read the book and believed the wrong man had been arrested. Now she has disappeared.

"Can Susan uncover the secret hidden in the book and find Cecily before it is too late?"

How many episodes of Moonflower Murders are there?

Moonflower Murders is a six-part series, which each episode lasting 45 minutes. Episodes 1 and 2 will premiere in the UK on Saturday November, 16 at 9:15pm and 10:20pm on BBC One. All six episodes will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer on the same date.

Lesley Manville as Susan Ryeland and Timothy McMullan as Atticus Pund in Moonflower Murders.
Lesley Manville as Susan Ryeland and Timothy McMullan as Atticus Pund in Moonflower Murders. -Credit:BBC

Who is in the cast of Moonflower Murders?

Academy Award-nominee Lesley Manville (The Crown, Phantom Thread, Mum) returns as book editor-turned-sleuth Susan Ryeland, alongside Timothy McMullan (Patrick Melrose, The Crown) who reprises his role as renowned literary detective Atticus Pünd. Both return in the lead roles they played in Magpie Murders.

Also returning is Line of Duty star Daniel Mays. Here is the cast in full.

  • Lesley Manville as Susan Ryeland

  • Tim McMullan as Atticus Pünd

  • Conleth Hill as Alan Conway

  • Daniel Mays as Locke/Chubb

  • Alexandros Logothetis as Andreas Patakis

  • Adrian Rawlins as Lawrence Treherne/Lance Gardner

  • Pooky Quesnel as Pauline Treherne/Maureen Gardner

  • Will Tudor as Aiden MacNeil/Algernon Marsh

  • Pippa Bennett-Warner as Madeline Cain

  • Rosalie Craig as Lisa Treherne/Melissa James

Where was Moonflower Murders filmed?

Much of Moonflower Murders was filmed on location in Crete. Producers also listed Dublin as a filming location, but did not disclose any specific locations.