Murder Most Puzzling

In episode 1, when a murder takes place in the sleepy market town of Bakerbury, the local police are baffled by a crossword puzzle left on the body. With their case going nowhere, they turn reluctantly to Cora Felton, a recent arrival in Bakerbury, whose fame as the eponymous Puzzle Lady suggests she can help DCI Hooper and the local police unravel the crossword clue and solve its first murder case.

As Cora throws herself into a murder case that has the town's residents baffled, she starts to gather allies and enemies in equal measure. Tenacious journalist Anton Grant is as much captivated by Sherry, Cora's niece, as he is Cora, while Anton's ex-girlfriend, amoral lawyer Becky Baidwan, might help, or might throw them all under the bus. As Cora's team assembles, it becomes apparent what they lack in experience, they make up for in attitude.

But the eccentric Cora isn't who she claims to be. And while she digs into a cold case she thinks may be connected, she uncovers a dark truth behind another young woman's death. Cora puts herself in the killer's sights. Which is a dangerous place to be…

It's Cora's birthday and she's fed up. It's been too quiet since she jailed The Graveyard Killer and she's itching for another mystery to solve, so Cora is thrilled when Becky hires her to investigate a case.

Becky asks Cora to dig into a convicted killer's case. Darren Duggan's girlfriend, Stacey, think he's innocent and wants him released. At Bakerbury Prison, Cora interviews the thoroughly unlikeable Darren who, five years ago, was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend Anita. He insists he didn't do it and points the finger at local weirdo, Roy Gleeson. Cora suspects Darren's telling the truth and her suspicions grow when prison boss, Governor Peacock, warns her off the investigation. Cora tracks down Gleeson at an up-market housing complex for ex-soldiers. Gleeson is a once-homeless army veteran, seen following Anita days before her murder; but he denies killing her.

Cora finds herself in hot water with Hooper but, undeterred, discovers a dark conspiracy at the heart of picturesque Bakerbury...

Wealthy businessman, Ray, and his dynamic wife Gloria, have sponsored Dennis Pride to play a gig in Bakerbury. Meanwhile, Cora is distracted by love, as she's wooed by a charming suitor, Gilbert. When Sherry says he seems too good to be true, it causes a rift between the women but plants a seed of doubt in Cora's mind.

Cora puts their lives on the line to catch the killer, and faces her toughest choice yet, when Hooper falls victim to her nemesis Mayor Firth and only she can save him; at stake is everything Cora and Sherry have built. Will The Puzzle Lady live to fight another day?