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All three
Susan Ryeland
An editor-turned-investigator who reads manuscripts, motives and omissions as evidence.
Played by: Lesley Manville
Open profile →Two worlds, one casebook
Character encyclopedia
Explore 54 main and recurring characters, grouped by the world they inhabit. Open each profile for relationships, the actor and story details.
- Contemporary
- 31
- Pünd world
- 23
Susan’s world
AI-generated illustration
Magpie · Moonflower
Andreas Patakis
Susan’s partner and the centre of the life she tries to build in Greece.
Played by: Alexandros Logothetis
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Magpie · Moonflower
Alan Conway
The successful, abrasive crime novelist whose transformations of real people drive both mysteries.
Played by: Conleth Hill
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Magpie · Moonflower
Katie Williams
Susan’s sister and an important connection to her life beyond publishing and detection.
Played by: Claire Rushbrook
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Magpie · Moonflower
DS Locke
A police detective whose relationship with Susan is frequently combative.
Played by: Daniel Mays
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Magpie · Moonflower
James Taylor
Alan Conway’s partner, drawn into the consequences of the author’s work.
Played by: Matthew Beard
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Magpie · Moonflower
Sajid Khan
A figure in Susan’s contemporary publishing and investigative orbit.
Played by: Sanjeev Kohli
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Magpie · Marble Hall
Charles Clover
Susan’s publisher and colleague during the missing-chapter investigation.
Played by: Michael Maloney
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Magpie
Claire Jenkins
Alan Conway’s sister and one of the people Susan must reassess.
Played by: Pippa Haywood
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Magpie
Max Ryeland
Susan’s father, seen through the personal history that shapes her present.
Played by: Lorcan Cranitch
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Magpie
Rev Robeson
A clergyman in Susan’s contemporary investigation.
Played by: Chu Omambala
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Magpie
Jack White
A contemporary-world figure connected to Susan’s inquiry.
Played by: Karl Collins
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Magpie
Freddy Conway
A member of Alan Conway’s family in the contemporary mystery.
Played by: Nathan Clarke
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Moonflower
Frank Parris
A hotel guest whose earlier murder lies behind Susan’s Moonflower investigation.
Played by: Mark Gatiss
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Moonflower
Lisa Treherne
A member of the family connected to Branlow Hall.
Played by: Rosalie Craig
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Moonflower
Lawrence Treherne
A senior member of the family at the centre of the Branlow Hall mystery.
Played by: Adrian Rawlins
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Moonflower
Pauline Treherne
A central member of the Branlow Hall family.
Played by: Pooky Quesnel
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Moonflower
Aiden MacNeil
Cecily’s husband and part of the family mystery Susan reconstructs.
Played by: Will Tudor
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Moonflower
Gwyneth Endicott
A figure within the Branlow Hall hotel’s past and present relationships.
Played by: Joanna Bacon
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Moonflower
Derek Endicott
A member of the contemporary Branlow Hall story.
Played by: Thomas Coombes
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Marble Hall
Eliot Crace
A young continuation writer whose unfinished Pünd manuscript draws Susan into a family mystery.
Played by: Jamie Blackley
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Marble Hall
Edward Crace
Edward Crace is played by Mark Bonnar in the contemporary story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Mark Bonnar
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Marble Hall
Jonathan Crace
Jonathan Crace is played by Rupert Penry-Jones in the contemporary story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Rupert Penry-Jones
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Marble Hall
Roland Crace
Roland Crace is played by Harry Lloyd in the contemporary story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Harry Lloyd
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Marble Hall
Julia Crace
Julia Crace is played by Laura Rogers in the contemporary story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Laura Rogers
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Marble Hall
Frederick Turner
Frederick Turner is played by Zubin Varla in the contemporary story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Zubin Varla
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Marble Hall
Matthew Flynn
Matthew Flynn is played by Jorden Myrie in the contemporary story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Jorden Myrie
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Marble Hall
Miriam Crace
Miriam Crace is played by Patricia Hodge in the contemporary story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Patricia Hodge
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Marble Hall
DI Ian Blakeney
DI Ian Blakeney is played by Danny Sapani in the contemporary story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Danny Sapani
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Marble Hall
Elaine Clover
Elaine Clover is played by Amelia Bullmore in the contemporary story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Amelia Bullmore
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Marble Hall
DC Emma Wardlaw
DC Emma Wardlaw is played by Anneika Rose in the contemporary story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Anneika Rose
Open profile →The Atticus Pünd mysteries
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All three
Atticus Pünd
Alan Conway’s meticulous 1950s detective and Susan’s imagined reasoning companion.
Played by: Tim McMullan
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Magpie · Moonflower
DI Chubb
The official police presence in Pünd’s village investigations.
Played by: Daniel Mays
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Magpie
James Fraser
Pünd’s assistant, sounding board and chronicler.
Played by: Matthew Beard
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Magpie
Clarissa Pye
A member of the Pye household in the embedded mystery.
Played by: Pippa Haywood
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Magpie
Sir Magnus Pye
The owner of Pye Hall and a central figure in the manuscript mystery.
Played by: Lorcan Cranitch
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Magpie
Rev Osborne
The village clergyman within the Atticus Pünd story.
Played by: Chu Omambala
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Magpie
Jack Whiteley
Jack White’s embedded-story counterpart in Saxby-on-Avon.
Played by: Karl Collins
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Magpie
Frederick Pye
A member of the Pye family within Conway’s manuscript.
Played by: Nathan Clarke
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Moonflower
Oscar Berlin
Frank Parris’s counterpart within Atticus Pünd Takes the Case.
Played by: Mark Gatiss
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Moonflower
Melissa James
The glamorous hotel-world counterpart inside Conway’s manuscript.
Played by: Rosalie Craig
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Moonflower
Lance Gardner
Lawrence Treherne’s counterpart in the embedded hotel mystery.
Played by: Adrian Rawlins
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Moonflower
Maureen Gardner
Pauline Treherne’s counterpart within the Pünd manuscript.
Played by: Pooky Quesnel
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Moonflower
Algernon Marsh
A manuscript-world counterpart in Atticus Pünd Takes the Case.
Played by: Will Tudor
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Moonflower
Phyllis Chandler
Gwyneth Endicott’s counterpart in Conway’s hotel mystery.
Played by: Joanna Bacon
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Moonflower
Eric Chandler
Derek Endicott’s counterpart inside the Pünd mystery.
Played by: Thomas Coombes
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Marble Hall
Lady Margaret Chalfont
A figure in Pünd’s Last Case; open the profile for spoiler-protected story details.
Played by: Patricia Hodge
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Marble Hall
Elmer Waysmith
Elmer Waysmith is played by Mark Bonnar in the Atticus Pünd story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Mark Bonnar
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Marble Hall
Jeffrey Chalfont
Jeffrey Chalfont is played by Rupert Penry-Jones in the Atticus Pünd story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Rupert Penry-Jones
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Marble Hall
Robert Waysmith
Robert Waysmith is played by Harry Lloyd in the Atticus Pünd story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Harry Lloyd
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Marble Hall
Judith Lyttleton
Judith Lyttleton is played by Laura Rogers in the Atticus Pünd story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Laura Rogers
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Marble Hall
Harry Lyttleton
Harry Lyttleton is played by Richard Goulding in the Atticus Pünd story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Richard Goulding
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Marble Hall
Achilles Vassilikos
Achilles Vassilikos is played by Zubin Varla in the Atticus Pünd story of Marble Hall Murders.
Played by: Zubin Varla
Open profile →Core sources: BBC programme material, PBS Masterpiece cast features and production credits. Last checked 20 September 2026.
One actor, two worlds
The dual-role directory
The adaptations often reuse actors across Susan’s world and the Atticus Pünd manuscript. This turns Conway’s transformations of real people into something viewers can see immediately.
| Performer | Contemporary world | Pünd manuscript | Appears in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lesley Manville | Susan Ryeland | — | All three |
| Tim McMullan | Susan’s imagined Pünd / manuscript detective | Atticus Pünd | All three |
| Conleth Hill | Alan Conway | — | Magpie, Moonflower |
| Alexandros Logothetis | Andreas Patakis | — | All three |
| Michael Maloney | Charles Clover | — | Magpie; later consequences |
| Matthew Beard | James Taylor | James Fraser | Magpie; Moonflower |
| Daniel Mays | DS Locke | DI Chubb | Magpie; Moonflower |
| Pippa Haywood | Claire Jenkins | Clarissa Pye | Magpie |
| Lorcan Cranitch | Max Ryeland | Sir Magnus Pye | Magpie |
| Chu Omambala | Rev. Robeson | Rev. Osborne | Magpie |
| Karl Collins | Jack White | Jack Whiteley | Magpie |
| Sanjeev Kohli | Sajid Khan | Dr Kamal | Magpie; Moonflower |
| Nathan Clarke | Freddy Conway | Frederick Pye | Magpie |
| Mark Gatiss | Frank Parris | Oscar Berlin | Moonflower |
| Rosalie Craig | Lisa Treherne | Melissa James | Moonflower |
| Adrian Rawlins | Lawrence Treherne | Lance Gardner | Moonflower |
| Pooky Quesnel | Pauline Treherne | Maureen Gardner | Moonflower |
| Will Tudor | Aiden MacNeil | Algernon Marsh | Moonflower |
| Joanna Bacon | Gwyneth Endicott | Phyllis Chandler | Moonflower |
| Thomas Coombes | Derek Endicott | Eric Chandler | Moonflower |
| Patricia Hodge | Crace-family story | Lady Margaret Chalfont | Marble Hall |
| Jamie Blackley | Crace-family story | Pünd-world role | Marble Hall |
| Harry Lloyd | Crace-family story | Pünd-world role | Marble Hall |
| Anneika Rose | Crace-family story | Pünd-world role | Marble Hall |
Marble Hall roles will be expanded after the BBC transmission and complete UK credits are available; uncertain pairings are not guessed.
Character case files
Alan Conway and Andreas Patakis
Alan Conway
A commercially successful crime novelist whose Atticus Pünd books sit at the centre of the first two adaptations. Conway’s habit of transforming people he knows into fictional characters makes authorship, resentment and interpretation part of Susan’s investigation.
Screen trail
- Magpie Murders: his unfinished manuscript and death drive Susan’s investigation.
- Moonflower Murders: a completed Conway novel becomes evidence in a later disappearance and an earlier murder.
Real-to-fictional transformations
Follow the paired names to see which parts share an actor across the two story worlds.
Television spoiler context
Conway’s fictional choices encode grievances and relationships. Exact solutions remain in the episode guide’s protected material.
Andreas Patakis
Susan’s partner and the emotional centre of her attempted life away from London publishing. His Greek identity connects the contemporary story to the Mediterranean settings while his relationship with Susan tests the cost of her continuing attachment to manuscripts and investigation.
Screen trail
- Magpie Murders: part of Susan’s life beyond Cloverleaf Books.
- Moonflower Murders: shares Susan’s Crete life before the Branlow Hall case pulls her back to England.
- Marble Hall Murders: returns in the trilogy’s contemporary strand; ending details stay in closed sections.
Television spoiler — Relationship spoiler context
Story reveals and book details stay in closed sections until you choose to open them.
Spoiler-layered relationship maps
People around each mystery
Magpie Murders
Susan’s investigation
- Susan Ryeland — editor and investigator
- Alan Conway — author and subject
- Andreas Patakis — partner
- Charles Clover — publisher
- DS Locke — police contact
Pünd’s case
- Atticus Pünd — detective
- James Fraser — assistant
- Sir Magnus Pye — Pye Hall
- Clarissa Pye — household
- DI Chubb — police
Screen bridge
- Conway turns real relationships into fiction
- Dual casting makes the parallels visible
- Susan reads the manuscript as evidence
Television spoiler — Solution layer
The decisive relationships are revealed only in the episode recaps.
Moonflower Murders
Branlow Hall
- Susan Ryeland — investigator
- Cecily MacNeil — missing woman
- Aiden MacNeil — husband
- Treherne family — hotel owners
- Frank Parris — earlier victim
Manuscript hotel
- Atticus Pünd — detective
- James Fraser — assistant
- Melissa James — hotel-world figure
- Algernon Marsh — manuscript counterpart
- Oscar Berlin — manuscript counterpart
Three linked questions
- What happened to Cecily?
- Was the old murder solved correctly?
- What did Conway hide in his novel?
Television spoiler — Solution layer
The three answers intersect; the protected recaps preserve the reveal order.
Marble Hall Murders
Contemporary strand
- Susan Ryeland — editor
- Eliot Crace — continuation author
- Crace family — inherited secrets
- Andreas Patakis — Susan’s partner
Pünd’s Last Case
- Atticus Pünd — detective
- Lady Margaret Chalfont — manuscript figure
- Other roles await complete BBC credits
guide boundary
- Only announced relationships are shown
- Book-only outcomes stay separate
- BBC transmission will unlock the solution layer
Sources: BBC/PBS programme material and verified television credits. Last reviewed 20 September 2026.
Read or listen to the Susan Ryeland books
Magpie Murders (2016)
Anthony Horowitz’s novel behind the first television mystery.
Waterstones · print Audible · audiobookMoonflower Murders (2020)
Anthony Horowitz’s novel behind the second television mystery.
Waterstones · print Audible · audiobookMarble Hall Murders (2025)
Anthony Horowitz’s novel behind the third television mystery.
Waterstones · print Audible · audiobookPaid links may earn commission, at no extra cost.