Steffii Miles

Just a beautiful show. The "cosy mystery" genre is often shallow, populated with quirky characters and cartoonish villains, but this show is a completely humanised offering. All the heart-warming elements of a cosy mystery are there: we have a soft-spoken heroine who loves to cook and garden (Maria Doyle Kennedy is so superbly warm as Tannie Maria), the gorgeous landscape of the Karoo, and a cast of lovable characters. But it's all underpinned by genuine complexity, realistic dialogue, and human connection and conflict. Even the police characters subvert the tropes- they are not dim-witted bumbling buffoons- they are sensitive, self-aware and hard-working. It's a slower approach- the mystery is fleshed out and solved over the entirety of the season, but it's time very well spent. The focus on community and friendship, with fully realised characters who go in to bat for one another, makes this so wonderful.