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Queens of Mystery (2019 Acorn TV Series)

Queens of Mystery Series 1 Queens of Mystery is an Acorn Original comedy mystery series from Britain that I think will please a lot of cozy mystery lovers – it certainly seems to have been made with the intention of giving off that “Cozy” vibe!

Matilda Stone (played by Olivia Vinall in Season 1, Florence Hall in Season 2) is a newly promoted Detective Sergeant, who has just been posted to her hometown of Wildemarsh, England, where she quickly reunites with her three quirky aunts – all three of them mystery authors! Cat (played by Julie Graham) is a former rocker now writing mystery graphic novels, Beth (played by Sarah Woodward) is the most motherly, a conventional mystery writer, and Jane (Siobhan Redmond), a bookstore owner and author of a sci-fi mystery series.

The first season of Queens of Mystery is a six episode run, broken up into three two-part episodes, each more centered around one of the aunt’s personal endeavors – the first two centered around Beth’s potential earning of a prestigious mystery award, the second set around Cat’s former rock career, and the third around a play based on one of Jane’s works. These selections of episodes allow each of the aunts to play a more important part on the episodes “featuring” them, and each in turn lets the show bring in a larger-than-life cast of eccentric authors, rockers, and actors who can then serve as both murder victims and suspects. Each episode is about 45 minutes, so each two-parter combined runs to about 1 hour 30 minutes.

In keeping with the more light-hearted tone, it’s worth noting that the cinematography of Queens of Mystery is far more colorful than most other mystery shows out there. It might just be that I’ve been watching too many dour, gritty police procedurals lately, but I really appreciated the bright, saturated colors of Wildemarsh and in the costumes of the cast.

Woven throughout are little tidbits of a bigger mystery (arc) centered around Matilda, whose mother disappeared when she was a small child. However, this was unfortunately my and my husband’s and my least favorite part of the show – it didn’t really go very far, and only served to break up the flow of the specific episodes. We also weren’t as fond of the presented romantic interest, handsome but boring coroner, Dr. Daniel Lynch – the actor playing him seems perfectly competent, but there just isn’t much meat for the role beyond Matilda occasionally making puppy-dog-eyes at him. Inspector Thorne (played by Martin Trenaman), Matilda’s grumpy boss who is always telling her to keep her aunts out of police business is particularly funny when he has his imaginary asides that contrast sharply with his rather gruff exterior.

Overall, I would call Queens of Mystery perhaps the “Coziest” mystery television series I’ve seen in a while, and despite the small issues I mentioned above, I’d still strongly recommend it to anyone who loves Cozies! In addition to the first series aired in 2019 that I have discussed above, there is a second 6 episode run from 2021 also available, and at least at the moment, both are streaming on Acorn.

Comments

  1. I agree that this series was like the curate’s egg * but worth sitting through the poorer bits. All the main actors are well known on UK TV for their various previous exploits. Siophan Redmond especially has been very versatile in both drama and comedy. I especially enjoyed her in “Bulman”, an old series that is worth seeking out.

    It may be worth trying to find a new series on UK TV. The Sister Boniface Mysteries, where a nun more or less becomes CSI to the local police in the village of Great Slaughter. Currently into the second series, but unfortunately seems to becoming a bit of a spoof of itself now.

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  2. PS. Meant to clarify my *. This is a cultural reference to an old Edwardian? cartoon in Punch magazine, where a Bishop is entertaining a number of clerics and asks the Curate if his boiled egg is satisfactory, whereupon the Curate, obviously trying to be polite about a bad egg, replies that ” it is good in parts”.

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  3. Love this show. You are spot on in your review of the show.. Well worth the watch, thanks for spotlighting it.

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  5. I love, love, love this series. I agree that it is the coziest of cozy mystery shows. It’s as family-friendly as it is possible for a show that includes murder. I disagree on the mystery of Matilda’s missing mother. I liked that part. I think it’s leading up to something big. Unfortunately, we may never know. I haven’t heard anything about season 3. I agree with your opinion of the love interest. He is not worthy of Matilda. Also worth mentioning is the amazing opening sequence of season 1, where we are introduced to the town and characters as if they were part of a pop-up book. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that there will be a season three, although it’s probably a bit late for that.

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    • Cuppa, it’s definitely very Cozy. I certainly also hope for a season 3, despite my lack of enthusiasm for the ongoing plot elements – the episode-by-episode mysteries are more than compelling enough to keep watching for me.

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  7. I love this series so much and really hoping for series 3! This show is quirky and I have to know what happened to her mother. I lover her aunts too who are the real crime solvers.

    This always reminds me of Pushing Daisies

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  8. Is this on BritBox?
    I have been watching “Pie in the Sky”, which is also good. I really liked “Rosemary and Thyme”and watched all the seasons, sad it was canceled. “Sister Boniface”, I enjoyed watching and waiting for the next season to start.

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  9. Once again you are recommending another series that I enjoy. I agree that the subplot involving Matilda’s parentage is not as interesting as the mysteries in every episode. I was able to get both seasons through the interlibrary loan system. I have found several very enjoyable mystery series by putting Acorn in the search engine for the library which brings up hundreds of DVD’s that I can sort by newest first.

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  10. My husband and l just started watching Q of M, and are enjoying it a lot. We do love our cozies, Father Brown, Shakespeare and Hathaway, Agatha Raisin, we love a little comedy with our murders.

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  11. I watched one episode or maybe two. I guess I didn’t enjoy it for some reason, as I didn’t keep watching and don’t remember much about it. I am watching a show called New Trickswhere there’s a groups solving cold crimes. Not sure it would be called a cozy, but there are no current murders. Three older, retired cops and their female boss. It is good.

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  15. This is lovely to know; as it reminds me of Agatha Raisin which is also to be found on Acorn; well I am not a subscriber to Acorn but I may add this to my Wishlist; of late I have not been purchasing anything; it is a neglected Wishlist I am sorry to say. Thank you for sharing.

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  16. I love this show but they left a lot of unanswered questions. I can’t find out whether there will be a new season, or at least a one off to explain her mother’s disappearance. Any news?

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  17. Love this show! It’s so bright and quirky with so many funny moments and I agree with you, a nice departure from the gritty, sober police procedurals. Kind of reflects the same spirit as the Sister Boniface Mysteries. Happy to hear there’s a new season airing–it’s been a long break! and curious to see the new girl playing Matilda.

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  18. Janster here. I love this Cozy mystery. I’ve watched both season 1& 2 several times on my Acorn app. For the longest time I didn’t realize the character Matilda switched in season 2. It was very seamless.
    Where is season 3? Please tell me there’s an upcoming season.

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  19. I hope there are more series coming soon….I love the show and love all the hidden symbolism.

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