There’s even a vaguely Agatha Christie/Conan Doyle-like scene where Jonathan explains how and why the crime was committed. It’s a shame, and a mixed statement from Renwick in what is the best Creek in ten years, with some wonderful reminiscent moments. Last time he was in a truly life-threatening scenario he managed to do a quality bit of escapology by throwing a playing card.

I have one reservation which, once again, can’t be discussed without spoiling the story but while I think it reflects a little untidiness in the plot, it didn’t sour me on the story as a whole. One of the things I liked best about it was the fact that Warwick Davies played the vicar (very well) but there was no ‘thing’ about his height.The only alternative suspect is the artist's wife who was well aware of his affair with another woman, but how could she have left her city office without her personal assistant seeing her leave?

But it turned out that his new wife and two of her three children were mysteriously killed in the home.Jonathan must discover how a retired stage psychic apparently predicted a set of winning lottery numbers decades before the draw was made. Produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick, it stars Alan Davies as the title character who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician while also solving seemingly supernatural mysteries through his talent for logical deduction and his understanding of illusions. It also requires about four things to happen perfectly, and the evidence available afterwards — Jonathan knows about it, because he tells Polly about it (we’ll come back to Polly, she’s not blameless here), so therefore the police do too — only serves to point to the husband more (and, no, I’m not talking about the ‘Anti- Money’ thing, though that was equally bloody stupid; I mean the note left in the book she’s reading…how does someone from outside know which book she’s reading? The detection-based scenes are well-thought out and filled with interesting deductions and fiendish schemes. Guvf vf ernyyl vagrerfgvat greevgbel sbe Wbanguna qenzngvpnyyl naq V guvax vg nyybjf gur fubj gb cerfrag Wbanguna va n fyvtugyl qvssrerag yvtug – erpbtavmvat uvf cerivbhf cevqr naq birepbasvqrapr znl unir pnhfrq uvz gb znxr reebef.

The striped unicorn subplot was almost as interesting as the main story itself, although anyone with a knowledge of chemistry will spot the culprit easily, as I did.

He summons Alison back to the house to tell her the truth, before being paralysed by a stroke and unable to spill his secret. For another, I think that the ending of the special with its allusions to Jonathan’s past and his history with his brother, rather than providing closure, seems to open up new possibilities. Vg’f abg gung V unir n ceboyrz jvgu gur zbgvir ohg whfg gung ubj ybat jbhyq ur unir gevrq gb unat nebhaq, fgergpuvat gur jbex bhg vs gur pbhcyr unqa’g vzzrqvngryl ghearq hc? Within the house the ghostly presence of Jacob Surtees can still be felt, as Alison and her husband Stephen unearth clues to the mystery that become more challenging and opaque, the deeper they probe. The more ‘phoney’ wordplay throughout the episode was a stretch, and there seemed to be a lot of padded out extra twists and turns that, although tied together by Renwick, could have been left behind.

Nobir V ersre gb guvatf V yvxr nobhg gur fubj’f svany srj frnfbaf – jryy, V nz guvaxvat cnegvphyneyl bs Gur Whqnf Gerr naq gur vqrn gung Wbanguna vf abg vasnyyvoyr. Read more about the condition New: An item that is still in its original shrink wrap from the manufacturer and the original manufacturer’s seal (if applicable) has not been removed. After a chance meeting at one of magician Adam Klaus's shows, Maddy recruits the initially reluctant Jonathan Creek, the actual designer of Adam's tricks, to provide her with some ideas about how the wife could have reached the scene of the crime, but Creek soon uncovers an even more sinister side to the case.While the outdated tone of this signposting is widely misjudged by Renwick, the reveal is a genuine ‘kick yourself’ moment, and indeed Creek, whose case suddenly all falls into place. These elements do a lot to remind us about the show’s history and make this feel like an intentional effort to pay homage to the show’s past. By the time Danse Macabre’s finished playing it looks like it’s going to go hard on the horror and the grand guignol. Guest stars: Dermot Crowley as Norman, Deborah Grant as Antonia, Zoë Hart as Rebecca Knape and Lorelei King as Justine Bailey.