MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN – Secrets & Lies

Murder In A Small Town is a 2024 murder mystery series airing on Global TV/Fox starring Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk.

The show is based on the Karl Alberg books written by late Canadian Author L. R. Wright.

Detective Karl Alberg comes to Gibson at a moment of change and upheaval – in his own life and also in the small, seaside community. Now Alberg and his team – his brilliant protégé Edwina Yen, old-hand Sid Sokolowski, and roguish rookie Andy Kendrick – face an array of unexpected challenges: secrets stir just beneath the beauty of the small town’s surface.

Recently divorced, Alberg finds himself falling for Cassandra Lee, a striking librarian whose deep ties in the community complicate both his role as Chief of Police and a tricky relationship with his teenage daughter, who has followed him across the country. Despite these challenges, Alberg and Cassandra embark on a quirky and heartfelt mid-life love story that forms the heart of the series.

Thanks to Fox I was able to review a screener of the pilot ahead of the show’s premiere next week on 24 September 2024 on Fox in the US and Global in Canada.

Background/Cast

Looking over the cast including the guest stars for upcoming episodes shows a wealth of acting talent. Kristin Kreuk is amazing in this role and especially in the Pilot where she gets a lot to do. Rossif Sutherland is a new face to me but he does well here and takes advantage of a solid script. Murder in a Small Town fleshes out his character nice and early in ways that other procedurals might not do in three seasons let alone an opening episode.

Aaron Douglas gets to play a lighter role here, the last few roles I remember seeing him generally has him as the bad guy. A recurring role on Motherland Fort Salem springs to mind. The character, Sergeant Sid mostly seems bemused by his new boss but there is respect there I hope he gets some time to shine during the series.

Mya Lowe’s Corporal Edwina Yen is the last of the cast that we will get to know in the pilot and there seems to be a lot there to see in future episodes. Her big case is too impressive to not have some dark secret involved in right? I’m sure we will see.

What I Thought

This show is very interesting, there is a definite mostly positive trend that is seeing more and more crime novels adapted for TV. There are a lot of influences that can be seen, having violent crime invade a beautiful scenic town works incredibly well. I don’t know much about the source materials but the tone in the show is interesting somewhere between Hallmark Mystery and dour British crime drama.

We spend a lot of time looking at interpersonal connections, like Karl with his daughter and the burgeoning relationship with Cassandra. That is very Hallmark but the tone isn’t as light. Also Hallmark mysteries generally don’t use “the method” seeing the inside the detective’s mind at work. Comparisons aside this is an interesting show that stands on its own. There is enough here, like recent standout procedurals like Will Trent.

Location Location Location

I did a little research into what the Sunshine Coast is and it really does make for the perfect backdrop for the show. We see it brought in to things in this first mystery but you’ll have to watch to see exactly how.

Final Thoughts

There is certainly no lack of procedurals on our TV schedules and available to stream. I think that Murder In A Small Town has something special that singles it out from the crowd. It opens very strongly with a well told story that signals exactly what is to be expected from this show. Definitely recommending this for that procedural space in your TV schedule.

Look for the extended 90-minute premiere this week on Tuesday 24 September at 8pm EST/PST on Global and StackTV.  The series moves to 9pm EST/PST on Tuesday 8 October before landing in its regular day and time on Wednesday 16 October at 10pm EST/PST.