‘Queens of Mystery’ Recap – ‘Murder in the Dark: Final Chapter’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

When we last settled in to discuss the wondrous cozy mystery series, Queens of Mystery (on Acorn TV), we talked at length about how the series premiere was in essence a masterclass in introducing an audience to a brand-new universe. For we were treated to engaging character introductions and development and going that route, settled us into this unique story and world and well… it’s important to revisit that wonder… because the majesty of this opening chapter in the Stone saga, didn’t end with quality world-building and dynamic character structure. For the second half of the story, served as another masterclass, one firmly grounded in how to put together a quality mystery.
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A feat that ‘Murder in the Dark: Final Chapter’ accomplished, by taking us on quite the ride. One that featured all kinds of twists and turns and wonderful misdirection and that’s exactly what a great mystery does. It should confuse us and keep us guessing since that demands the viewer to keep a close eye on the clues and even then, it may still fool you, as was the case here. Because despite being able to obtain a confession from Benjamin Kingston, one that implied he masterminded all of the death, Matilda felt hollow about the whole thing and that motivated her, and her aunts… to press harder on the case and really try to understand what happened here and that’s when this story brought about its most satisfying turn.

Because it went old school and brought forth some classic detective devices to bring the real killer to justice. Which meant we were treated to musings from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the wonder and thrill of an investigator stopping at nothing to find the truth and risking their lives in the process. Plus, it also doesn’t hurt that this segment allowed for a little commentary to come into play. Since it was Oscar’s biggest fan that committed this crime because she couldn’t bear the thought of how he was going to end his book series. A shocking twist that more or less made it clear to the audience, to make sure that we never blur the lines between fantasy and reality since that can be unhealthy… and downright dangerous when one cannot differentiate between the two.

However, while this story put on a true clinic regarding how to write a mystery, the quality character development present in the first episode was also present here. For this story fleshed out the incredible draw that Matilda and Daniel share a little further and hinted at how that is clearly going to bring forth trouble down the line. Not to mention, we got to learn more about the aunts here and how they click and of course, we finally started diving into the Raven mythos and the mystery surrounding Matilda’s mother, and it was just a genuine treat to see this world be fleshed out further and to be informed of the fact that the characters will always be the queens of this series, regardless of how engaging the case in front of them might be. 

If anything, this was just a flawless ending to one fascinating mystery. Because this part of the journey left no stone unturned (pun fully intended) and it wrapped up one powerful and intricate case in a satisfying and complete manner and of course, it set the stage for things to come. But what matters most, is that it also did a phenomenal job of sucking us into this universe like never before. Because after this episode, you are vested. Simply because you know you’re dealing with great and noble people that will always do their best to bring criminals to justice, and that their hearts are always in the right place and that kind of positivity is impossible to avoid and it will be a real treat to enjoy it further, in the days and weeks to come. Until next time.  

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