Phyllis Logan's puzzling whodunnit is like a spoof of Midsomer Murders, says RONALD WHITE
About halfway through Murder Most Puzzling, actor Adam Best delivered what is surely the most whodunnit line ever: 'This is DI Hooper. A body has been found in the library.'
Found? You'd have to be Chief Inspector Clouseau to have missed it. The bloodied corpse dropped from the balcony during amateur detective Cora Felton's birthday party — straight on top of the giant cake.
But never mind the death, a bigger mystery was the party itself.
Inspector Hooper's main job in this series is to look cross while telling Cora to mind her own business. Why would he organise her birthday party?
And how do you slit a hard-bitten private investigator's throat and heave him over a balcony into a room full of police officers without anybody noticing?
Murder Most Puzzling has been compared with the BBC 's hit Ludwig, mainly because Cora — like David Mitchell 's character — is a famous crossword compiler.
But that's where the resemblance ends. Crosswords and logic are how Ludwig solves crimes, posing as his identical twin brother. There is also something darker lurking in the background, not to mention the suggestion that Ludwig fancies his sister-in-law.
We only knew Phyllis Logan's Cora was a famous puzzler in this episode because everybody kept mentioning it. She could just as well be a celebrity chef. Her red specs were straight out of the Prue Leith eyewear range.
This six-parter has none of the subtlety of Ludwig. Sometimes it was like watching a spoof episode of Midsomer Murders. There were some clever twists, but far too much seemed far too unlikely.
It's a waste of Phyllis Logan, and at two hours, it's much too long (by contrast, the BBC's Death Valley is only 45 minutes).
In last night's episode, Cora was hired to clear the name of a man in prison for killing his girlfriend.
I don't want to give too much away, but the mayor of Bakerbury (Richard Croxford) could not have been a more obvious villain if he had a duelling scar, sported a twirly moustache, and stroked a white cat.
Cora confronted him alone in his office, and it's a miracle she survived long enough to do this. Her preferred method of solving crimes seems to be meeting suspects in circumstances of obvious danger and asking if they've killed anybody recently.
At least she had a gun when confronting one killer, who was caught in the act. Who knew crossword compilers were routinely armed?
She also managed to force her way into the office of Mr Peacock, the rather limp governor of Bakerbury Prison and an early suspect, by bribing the guards with biscuits.
Presumably, these guards were sacked following this outrageous security breach — and immediately recruited by RAF Brize Norton.
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Kathleen Kingston, 67, who has lived in the area her whole life said housing people above shops on a high street is plain wrong. She went on: 'I think of the accommodation for locals like housing association, there are more people that need housing.' Patricia Walding, 87, added: 'These hotels are changing our towns, they are costing us a fortune and robbing the taxpayer while our own people are sleeping on the streets, I think it's disgusting.' Sid Conroy, who used to work for Airbus and now spends his time breeding racing pigeons, fears serious repercussions if the hotel gets given the greenlight But not everyone is so against the plans. One lady, an SEN teacher, who did not want to be named, feels local people are unloading unrelated grievances about their lives onto asylum seekers because they are 'an easy target'. The mum said: 'People have got different views, those views are not wanting to house asylum seekers. The views and reasoning behind it are one, very racist, and two, not the right reasons. You hear it a lot, just the chat about migrants. 'I don't believe for one second they care about the money side of things with the migrant criss or the actual safety of other people. 'I understand people are concerned about women and children. I'm concerned about the other side of it, the protests, all these people gathering. They'll say its peaceful but it definitely wont be. 'I've had asylum seekers as students, one of them has just past their level three and I couldn't be more proud. When you actually listen to someone like that and they tell you stories what it is really like to come from somehwere like that, you have no idea, you get to wake up in a warm bed every morning. When you see videos they won't show on the BBC. 'Everytime I share my views, people say it's stupid. But you can't help where you're born.' The Leader of Havant Borough Council, Councillor Phil Munday, said 'I understand we have an instructed duty from the Home Office to house asylum seekers within the borough, however it is important that the council works closely with all concerned to advise on the placement for these vulnerable people. 'I have taken immediate action and personally called The Home Office to request an extension to their consultation in order for us to respond accordingly. This has also been followed up with formal requests in writing from our officers. 'We are extremely disappointed that the company involved with this important consultation, considering the impact it may have on our local community, was not only sent to an incorrect email address, but they also failed to follow up to ensure a response of some kind was registered. These consultation exercises need to be taken seriously. Councillor Phil Munday added 'I also have grave concerns on the impact the recent video posted by MP Suella Braverman will have, and I would urge the community to act responsibly and allow us to address this matter formally in the correct manner. 'As part of my open letter to Suella Braverman MP on this matter I will be reminding her that those who could potentially be accommodated somewhere within our borough, will be supported asylum seekers. 'They are categorically not recognised by the state as illegal immigrants – regardless of the headline-grabbing title of Suella Braverman's petition – and I urge people to consider this in their views and actions.' As of late June 2025, there are approximately 32,000 asylum seekers housed in hotels in the UK. As of July 20, 2025, over 20,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats this year, according to the BBC.
