Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries "Blood and Circuses" #1.11 (2012)

My least favorite so far, 4 May 2017

Phryne is visited by an old friend named Samson, a circus strongman. Samson ask Phryne for help investigating a recent murder at the circus where he works. Phryne agrees, but is troubled by images from her past. It seems that she and her sister, Janie, snuck into this very same circus and it's the place where Janie went missing. Can Phryne find the killer as she attempts to deal with her own demons?

Of the first eleven episodes in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries series, Blood and Circuses is so far my least favorite. There are several things I didn't care for in this episode, but chief among them is how forced it all felt. I know this may seem like a fairly lame explanation, but I much prefer the episodes where Phryne just falls into a murder. This one didn't have that feeling to it. Also, one of the things I like best about the show is Phryne's sophistication and style. Working undercover in a circus, she doesn't have many opportunities to display those qualities. Finally, I didn't really care about any of the carney characters. And, not caring about them, I didn't really care what happened to them. Not a winning combination.

I also need to mention the subplot that's been running through the whole series involving Phryne and Murdoch Foyle, the man Phryne holds responsible for her sister's disappearance. If this is truly the end of that storyline, it's not a satisfying ending at all. Phryne (and the audience) deserved more closure. Hopefully (and I suspect this to be true), this is not the last time we will see Murdoch Foyle.

4/10