Have always adored detective dramas/mystery series. This has been apparent from an early age, half my life even, when getting into Agatha Christie through Joan Hickson's Miss Marple and David Suchet's Poirot and into 'Inspector Morse'.
Whether it's the more complex ones like 'Inspector Morse' (and its prequel series 'Endeavour') and anything Agatha Christie. Whether it's the grittier ones like 'A Touch of Frost' (though that is balanced brilliantly with comedy too) and particularly 'Taggart'. And whether it's the light-hearted ones like 'Murder She Wrote'. 'Rosemary and Thyme' is an example of a light-hearted detective mystery series and always gives me a lot of pleasures and banishes the blues when watching. It is a shame that it didn't last longer because it deserved to.
"In a Monastery Garden" for me is not quite one of my favourite 'Rosemary and Thyme' episodes, but is still great. It is slight but at no point does it feel dull, it's full of surprises and is not a case of not being enough suspects.
Personally though did find everything with the organ and pedals easy to figure out fairly early on in the investigation, meaning that the murderer wasn't as big a surprise as with other episodes.
Visually, "In a Monastery Garden" looks wonderful, beautifully photographed, vibrant in colour and as always with the show with a stunning setting, have always been envious of the gardens seen on the show. The music has a lot of charm with a main theme tune that is soothingly folksy that matches the whimsy of the setting appropriately.
The writing is engaging and suitably light-hearted without being frothy. Some of the dialogue for Laura and especially Rosemary is very funny. The story is suitably twisty without being too convoluted, and is entertaining and with a relaxing vibe without being simplistic.
Similarly the characters engage, with Rosemary and Laura already being interesting and distinct in personality, and the chemistry between the two sparkles. Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris are simply great, individually and as a sparkling double act, love Kendal's fire and feistiness and Ferris' more restrained and thoughtful approach. The supporting cast are hard to find fault with too.
Overall, another fine episode. 9/10 Bethany Cox
