BBC confirms fate of Lesley Manville's murder mystery drama

Moonflower Murders is a sequel with Magpie Murders star Lesley Manville leading the cast.

(Image credit: BBC)

Following Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders, the BBC has revealed it is lining up the third and final installment in Anthony Horowitz's murder mystery series, Marble Hall Murders.

While we've still not heard if we will be getting more Rebus or Return to Paradise from the BBC, at least we know the adventure isn't over for Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville), a book editor who's forever getting caught up in murder cases. Tim McMullan (Patrick Melrose, The Crown) also returns as Atticus Pünd, the literary detective who steps out of the books to help Susan unravel the real-life mysteries.

Anthony Horowitz says: "I'm so happy to bring the team back — stars, director, producers, and crew — for a third installment of what has been a fantastically successful TV series. I have a feeling this could be the best yet."

Atticus Pünd (Timothy McMullan) outside the Moonflower Hotel in episode 5 of Moonflower Murders — Atticus Pünd (Timothy McMullan) returns (Image credit: BBC)

Teasing the plot, the BBC says: "Returning to England, Susan is reluctantly drawn into a new Atticus Pünd mystery, this time written by a new, young writer. 'Pünd’s Last Case' is a story set in 1955, in an exotic villa in Corfu — but the identity of a real killer is hidden in the text, and once again Susan is going to find herself in grave danger."

The most recent series, Moonflower Murders, went out last year and averaged 4.9m viewers across the series, making it one of the BBC's most watched acquired scripted series in 2024, explaining why it's being brought back. We'd rate it as one of the best BBC dramas of recent times.

Susan shares a chat with Atticus Pünd in episode 3 of Moonflower Murders — Susan and Pünd make a great team (Image credit: BBC)

Marble Hall Murders will be filmed in March in Dublin, Corfu, and London. Interestingly, the TV series has been commissioned before the actual book has been released. "Marble Hall Murders" has an April 10 release date, as to the TV series we imagine that will be towards the end of the year. In the US, Marble Hall Murders will be available on PSB.org, PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video channel.

If you've not seen the first two series, we can highly recommend them. In each series, Susan is solving a murder in the real world using clues contained in the Atticus Pünd detective stories. In Magpie Murders she's investigating the murder of the book's author, Alan Conway, while in the second series, Moonflower Murders, she looks into a death at a hotel.