What happens

Susan goes to London looking for more than another interview at Branlow Hall. To read Conway’s book properly, she needs to understand what he knew before he wrote it. James Taylor, the author’s former partner, offers a route into a private history that the Trehernes could never have supplied. Recorded conversations also allow Susan to hear the original questions and answers, rather than relying entirely on memories reshaped by eight years.

The trip has a personal purpose as well. Susan considers returning to publishing and staying in England, while Andreas faces decisions about their hotel in Crete. Her investigation and her uncertain future compete for attention. An apparently hospitable old acquaintance makes that situation more complicated, rather than providing the uncomplicated refuge she needs.

Within the novel, Pünd keeps returning to the order of events surrounding Melissa’s death. A familiar cultural reference links the stories, but a repeated title is only the beginning of an explanation. Notice the distinction between saying that somebody intended to attend an event and establishing whether the event could actually have been attended.

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Who’s in this episode

Susan Ryeland

Played by Lesley Manville. Susan seeks Conway’s records while testing the possibility of a return to editing.

James Taylor

Played by Matthew Beard. James provides personal history and material left behind by Alan.

Alan Conway

Played by Conleth Hill. Recordings and flashbacks return Alan’s self-serving questions to the centre of the story.

Frank Parris

Played by Mark Gatiss. Frank’s earlier connections complicate his role as a passing hotel guest.

Atticus Pünd

Played by Tim McMullan. Pünd is troubled by the sequence of the attack, not simply the available motives.

Algernon Marsh

Played by Will Tudor. Algernon looks for a way to profit from information about his brother-in-law.

Where it was filmed

Filming: Crete hosts Susan and Andreas’s hotel. Dublin locations supply the English settings.

Clues to watch for

Frank’s supposedly faulty keycard and the circumstances in which he hands it over.
The Marriage of Figaro: remember both who mentions it and whether a performance takes place.
The dedication to Frank and Leo, including the assumptions made about the second name.
Who checked Alan into Branlow Hall, compared with what Aiden later says about meeting him.
Pünd’s objections to the sequence of events and to treating punishment as entertainment.

Full recap (spoilers)

A flashback returns to the day before Cecily’s wedding. She is upset about the missing fountain pen, and Aiden encourages her to relax with a drink outside. Frank interrupts them, hands Aiden his room key and says that it is not working. He also announces an intention to attend The Marriage of Figaro. Cecily knows that the opera is not being performed that evening, making his remarks another small inconsistency in the wedding’s history.

In London, Susan stays with author Craig Andrews, who credits her contribution to his books. He has contacts that may help arrange a prison visit to Stefan. Susan also meets a publisher about possible work, but their discussion leaves her feeling out of step with the business she misses. A request for her opinion on a cover becomes an uncomfortable reminder that professional honesty does not always make an interview successful.

James Taylor tells Susan that Frank introduced him to Alan. Their connection involved James’s earlier work as an escort, and Frank’s personality was as unpleasant privately as at the hotel. James also remembers another escort called Leo, though his knowledge is limited. He gives Susan Conway’s notes and recorded interviews, allowing her to return directly to the writer’s visit after Frank’s death.

On the recordings, Alan reassures people about his intentions while gathering material he will transform into fiction. Cecily questions Frank’s peculiar statements about the keycard and the opera. Aiden interrupts her interview and challenges Alan’s questions. Susan also hears a discrepancy in the accounts of Alan’s arrival. The research creates a picture of a novelist collecting grievances as eagerly as facts, then disguising them as entertainment.

Craig makes an unwanted advance after drinking with Susan. She rejects him and leaves for a hotel, accidentally abandoning her phone. Andreas, meanwhile, is considering leaving the business in Crete to be with her. When he calls, Craig answers and gives an impression that threatens to deepen the couple’s misunderstanding. Susan’s return journey takes her past a sale sign at Katie’s home, adding another worry.

In the Pünd story, Algernon pressures Leonard Collins to obtain part of Samantha’s inheritance, threatening to reveal a secret. Chubb discovers that John Spencer’s opera performance was cancelled after the singer was injured. Confronted, John admits returning home, arguing with Melissa and strangling her. Pünd remains uneasy. A figure at a window distracts him and Chubb; while they go outside, John is stabbed with the dagger. Madeline’s scream brings them back to a second death before the first has truly been explained.

Book vs TV (book spoilers)

Conway’s novel appears as one long embedded text in the book; television keeps returning to Susan between its revelations.
John Spencer is the screen name of Melissa’s husband; the novel calls him Francis Pendleton.
The television Pünd can answer Susan’s questions directly as an imagined companion, unlike the novel’s separate protagonists.

The book handles this differently. Read or listen to Moonflower Murders.