by Lorie Lewis Ham
Acorn TV is always a great source for British Mysteries and one of their newer ones is Murder Before Evensong. It first caught my eye when I saw that the main character, Canon Daniel Clement, was played by Matthew Lewis, best known for playing Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter movies. It is adapted from the novel of the same name by Richard Coles, which is actually a book series I had wanted to try.
I had to look up what a Canon was, because he is in a role that seems to usually be referred to as a vicar, such as in Grantchester. He is also referred to as rector. Here is what I found online for anyone like me who was curious-In the Church of England, a rector is the priest in charge of a parish, responsible for the spiritual guidance and administration of the church community. A canon is a member of the clergy, often with a senior role at a cathedral or a distinguished parish priest who receives an honorary title for service to the church.
Daniel is rector/canon at a church in the small fictional village of Champton, and the story takes place in the 1980s during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Daniel faces criticism from those above him, and the local media, for standing up for the rights and care of young men suffering from HIV/AIDS. As well as from his mother, Audrey (Amanda Redman), who has to move in with Daniel because his father passed away. Daniel is an eager young man who feels it is his job to help those in need no matter what others may say and I appreciated him standing firm on that in this story.
As if that wasn’t enough for him to have on his plate together with caring for his church, one of Daniel’s parishioners is murdered and he gets drawn very reluctantly into helping solve the case. He has also been receiving anonymous threats and wonders if he might have been the intended victim. At first, he clashes with the detective on the case, DS Neil Vanloo (Amit Shah), but Vanloo starts to see there may be some value in Daniel’s insight. The victim, Anthony Bowness, comes from a local wealthy family, though he was the black sheep. As Daniel and Vanloo investigate, motives keep mounting, from possible adultery to art forgery. Daniel is also dealing with petty the squabbling within his own church.
I absolutely loved Murder Before Evensong and I hope there will be many more seasons. I especially liked the relationship between Daniel and Vanloo—quite different from the more fatherly relationship on Grantchester—in this one, they are more peers, so I can see a great friendship growing there. I found his mother annoying and wanted to send her packing, as Daniel often seemed to as well—though she did soften up a bit in the end. The mystery was interesting and had plenty of twists to it. There was just enough humor to keep is from being too dark, but it was definitely darker than something like Father Brown.
The Madame Blanc Mysteries Christmas Special
The Madame Blanc Mysteries is another fun mystery series with plenty of lightheartedness. In this 2-part Christmas special airing on December 15 and 20, Jean and Dom, and the James’, attend an exclusive museum event on Christmas Eve, where Jean has been asked to verify a rare box once owned by Marie Antoinette. As she inspects the antique, she discovers a ticking time bomb with only an hour and a half before it detonates and they have all been locked inside. When Dom spots a riddle addressed to Jean underneath the bomb, she races against the clock to find the code and stop a deadly explosion. In the meantime, there is a brave effort made by their friends on the outside to save them as well. 
While there wasn’t much Christmas to it, this was another fun and interesting mystery featuring a wonderful and eclectic group of characters viewers have all come to love. It also left us with a bit of a cliffhanger that I assume will be addressed in the new season.
There are also a lot of other mystery Christmas specials over on Acorn if you are looking to add more mystery to your Christmas!
Happy Holidays!
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