Mrs Sidhu Investigates: Two BBC Radio 4 Comedy Crime Dramas

by Suk Pannu, Meera Syal (Narrator), Justin Edwards (Narrator)

Meera Syal stars as Slough's answer to Miss a curious Indian chef who finds herself mixed up with murder

Meera Syal is Mrs Sidhu, an Indian caterer with a highly active imagination and her own brand of crime solving - enough of a brand, in fact, that the local police have a file on her 'observations'.

The first series, Murder with Masala , sees Mrs Sidhu catering an upscale Berkshire wedding at Lapsley Hall, where a bridesmaid goes missing. Calling in her contact Inspector Burton, Mrs Sidhu finds herself investigating the family's playboy son, the mysterious butler, and even Lord and Lady Lucas themselves. While simultaneously dealing with her argumentative son and her wily supplier, Mrs Sidhu must uncover the truth about the whole wedding party before it's too late.

In the second series, Mrs Sidhu's Dangerous Highland Game , the sleuthing chef travels up to Scotland, catering for a billionaire at a remote shooting estate. But soon the client is missing and the estate is cut off by bad weather. Will Mrs Sidhu's clues give Inspector Burton a helping hand, or a headache? And is she there to reveal the truth about Castle Tannoch - or are they all just there as quarry for an entirely different type of hunt?

Starring Meera Syal (Goodness Gracious Me, Broadchurch), Justin Edwards (The Thick of It, In and Out of the Kitchen) and Amy Morgan (Call the Midwife, Ten Percent), Mrs Sidhu Investigates is currently being adapted for TV, and is perfect for fans of Agatha Raisin and Father Brown.

Cast
Mrs Sidhu - Meera Syal
Josh / Inspector Burton - Justin Edwards
Jemma / Briony - Amy Morgan
Mr Varma / Lord Lucas - Vincent Ebrahim
Mrs Broghan / Lady Lucas - Rachel Atkins
Tez / Sergeant - Hamza Jeetooa
Sir Alex / Zukhov - John Sessions
Jane / Kirsty - Hilary Maclean
Robert / PC Williamson - Okorie Chukwu
Callum - Gordon Kennedy

Production credits
Written by Suk Pannu
Edited by Leon Chambers
Produced by Gordon Kennedy
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
An Absolutely Production for BBC Radio 4

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra on the following
4 October - 25 October 2017 (Murder with Masala)
14 June - 5 July 2019 (Mrs Sidhu's Dangerous Highland Game)

Audible Audio

Published February 23, 2023

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A BBC dramatisation of a very mild British "mystery"series, the formula of which is becoming extremely tired.

Older widow woman (in this case South Asian),with a doofus son; she is a self-made caterer who finds herself in the midst of "situations" amongst dislikeable gentry. Of course there is also a hapless policeman sidekick, always outsmarted by our Mrs. Sidhu! Focus is exclusively on the quirky characters, whom we are supposed to love immediately.

Smug and definitely created to capitalise on previous light mysteries (aka Thursday Murder Club, the Marlow Murder Club) and already being planned for television series. Probably a PBS/BBC/ partnership, soon to be featured during public television fundraising campaigns. I can see the tote bags now...

Please, just go read some Miss Marple.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a radio play rather than an audiobook and I quite enjoyed it. I grew up listening to various radio plays on cassette (that may be showing my age) and they don't seem to be around any more. Yes, this was two light, cozy mysteries, but they were fun with quirky characters. I was disappointed there were only two of them on the CD I borrowed from the library. I hope to find more radio plays on CD as this was enjoyable.

If you're looking for something that is light and fun, this could be the sort of thing that will interest you.

[Humbledaisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the humor and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a fun, casual, cozy listen (3.5 stars)