Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
There are always secrets in a small town, yet someone always spills them to the wrong person.
FOX’s Murder in a Small Town has all the elements of the perfect murder mystery. However, since it is co-produced by Canada’s Sepia Films, it is not as gruesome as some U.S. procedurals.
Murder in a Small Town Season 1 Episode 1 opened with the murder scene. In many ways, their format reminded me of another Canadian procedural –Motive — but the suspect wasn’t as clear this time.
The series premiere was adapted from L. R. Wright’s initial Karl Alberg novel, “The Suspect.” While it wasn’t a carbon copy, many details were similar.
Since I guessed who the suspect was fairly early on, Murder in a Small Town focused more on the motive.
There was something off about George Wilcox (James Cromwell) right away. Understandably, finding your elderly neighbor dead could rattle you, but he seemed like he was hiding something.
At first glance, George appeared like a kind gentleman who checked on his neighbor occasionally. He had an affinity for gardening and reading and was fond of Cassandra (Kristin Kreuk).
We later learned Cassandra looked similar to his dead sister, Audrey, which explained part of it.
Interestingly, Carlyle Burke wasn’t a kind elderly man that anyone missed. Even his sister seemed detached and estranged but dropped the juicy tidbit that George and Carlyle knew each other for years.
Carlyle had married George’s sister Audrey, and then she died in an accident only two years later. That gave Karl a motive but was only a hunch without proof.
Evidence quickly mounted against George with the neighbors and the fish guy recounting seeing him at Carlyle’s earlier in the day, but Karl wanted a foolproof confession.
George Wilcox wasn’t an evil man; this was a complicated case. It was difficult not to feel some empathy for him. He watched his mother in an abusive marriage, so he recognized the signs.
George recognized the signs of an angry, manipulative man and tried to warn his sister Audrey away from Carlyle, but she didn’t listen, and she died in an accident. We’ll never know if Carlyle was responsible for that, but Audrey’s letters revealed Carlyle had abused her.
Is murder the answer? No. But how many of us would want to hurt the person who had abused our sibling? Cassandra was right. Justice isn’t always black and white. This was a grey case, as domestic violence situations often are.
George was an old, dying man. Prison wasn’t the place for him, but was it fair to let him go? Karl Alberg showed him more compassion than most cops would have, which benefited him, too.
While the case was interesting and James Cromwell did a fantastic job, the series’ draw was Karl and Cassandra’s relationship. Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk already have sizzling chemistry and angst. I ship them already.
In procedurals, romance generally gets pushed to the side. I loved that we saw their first blind date, including the awkwardness as they got to know each other.
Cassandra seemed more wary of dating than Karl since he figured it was a friendly lunch.
Neither seemed like the type to use a dating site, and I wasn’t surprised that Cassandra admitted her friends encouraged her to use one. She had gotten used to being independent and single, which many men didn’t like.
Watching them talk about anything was part of their charm. Karl was one of those men who didn’t need an elaborate date and was happy spending time with her.
I generally love slow-burn couples, but I also appreciated their teasing banter and instant connection. There was something about the cinematography between their passionate kisses and George’s sinister rowing on the lake.
Their relationship worked so well that it only had room to fall. Part of that was mixing business with pleasure, and part of it was Cassandra’s trust issues.
She thought Karl only liked her if she could help his case, and Karl believed she should trust him enough to confide in him about George. They had only known each other for a few days and didn’t know each other well enough to make those assumptions about their relationship.
Thankfully, our suspect, George Wilcox, played matchmaker by sending them each a letter, hinting that Karl should be nice to Cassandra.
So far, the series hasn’t used the supporting cast much. Sgt. Sid Sid Sokolowski and Corporal Edwina Yen assisted Karl with the case, but Andy Kendrick and Isabella barely appeared. Perhaps we’ll see them more in future episodes.
Corporal Edwina Yen( Mya Lowe) surprised viewers as much as she did her superiors with how well she interviewed suspects. She put them at ease and got witnesses to open up. I’m intrigued to learn more about her.
She and Sid (Aaron Douglas) quickly learned that Karl solves cases by looking at the entire picture and studying anything out of place. The trio will be entertaining to work with.
Hopefully, we’ll learn more about Karl and Cassandra’s families in upcoming installments.
We saw his older daughter and heard he was estranged from his younger one. The series needs to explore this more if he and Cassandra date.
The series is different than many procedurals. It’s similar to other cozy mysteries and may fill the void for some Will Trent fans.
What did you think of the Murder in a Small Town series premiere? Do you like Karl and Cassandra’s relationship? Did you suspect George was the killer?
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