Everything to Know about 'Magpie Murders' Ahead of The Series Debut

Fall is traditionally a time for mystery series on PBS. This year is no different, with the returns of Van der Valk and Miss Scarlet & the Duke and the premiere of new crime drama Annika, starring longtime Masterpiece fan favorite Nicola Walker. But the arrival of the highly anticipated Magpie Murders this month not only adds another award-winning actress to the mix in star Lesley Manville but a very different and unorthodox sort of story.

Magpie Murders is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Anthony Horowitz. He is probably best known to American audiences as the creator of the period mystery series Foyle's War and as the writer behind many scripts for the popular crime drama Midsomer Murders. But here, he tackles a very different kind of story: A mystery within a mystery, primarily centered around a woman who is not a traditional detective or even police adjacent.

Instead, Manville's Susan Ryeland is a book editor who is thrilled when she finally receives the latest manuscript from her unpleasant client, Alan Conway. The newest installment in his series featuring detective Atticus Pünd is sure to be a big hit, and Ryeland is over the moon. Or, at least, she is until she realizes the manuscript is unfinished and the last chapter is missing. Her hunt for the missing pages leads to the gruesome discovery of Conway's body and Ryeland's realization that the key to his death may well be buried in the clues of his final novel.