Review of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: The Murder at Road Hill House

'The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher', a crime drama based on a true case in Victorion England, has a great cast; but falls flat. It's a mannered, gentle affair, wholly devoid of tension. Mr Witcher investigates a crime, forms suspicions in the absence of cooperation from the local police, but comes under political and popular pressure and is unable to conclude his case successfully; years later, some evidence emerges that supports his theory; but that's it. We're never given particular reason to care about the crime; and while we naturally sympathise with the protagonist, he isn't the crime's victim, and is powerless in the face of the machinations around him. Perhaps we're so used to crime dramas that are improbably dramatic that it's hard for a more naturalistic story to succeed; but it's also fair to say that Victorian England never really comes to life in this tale.