Crooked House

Irons more than holds his own at the center of this swirling mystery, and Martini proves an enchanting leading lady, but the real draws are Close and Anderson, who bring a ferocious zest to their over-the-top characters.

A visual treat but a less-than-tantalizing mystery.

Crooked House feels as lifeless as the corpse at its center.

The superb cast provides mild pleasures, as do some aspects of the elaborate mystery itself.

All in all, a hugely enjoyable, sumptuous adaptation that, while never attempting to break the Christie mould, imbued the story with a pleasingly contemporary feel.

Crooked House knows what its job is: to set up a tangled web of colorful characters, throw in a few red herrings, set off its dynamite, and make its exit while the smoke is still in the air.

Thanks to a dark humor, and extraordinary performances, 'Crooked house' manages to escape from tropes and common places. [Full Review in Spanish]

It's certainly a deliciously dark tale, but it never really gives into its sordid, over-the-top tendencies until it's too late.

Even so, after a while you can't help noticing that, rather unusually for a Christie adaptation, not a great deal is happening plot-wise, with the programme not so much gripping us as drifting pleasantly by.

An unpretentious Agatha Christie-penned murder mystery every bit as good as last year's all-star hit Murder on the Orient Express.