As most Biff Bam Pop! fans know, this little Steampunk Granny is stuck in Wildwood during the dreary winter months. Not only am I isolated, but I’m also suffering from some mysterious ailment from Hell. Never a quitter, this little granny has made use of her situation to review a British limited thriller series.
Fool Me Once
The 2024 series, Fool Me Once, is adapted from the 2016 Harlan Coben novel of the same name by Danny Brocklehurst. Directed by David Moore and Nimer Rashed, the series stars Michelle Keegan, Adeel Akhtar, Richard Armitage and Joanna Lumley. I think what encouraged me to even watch the series was because I freaking love Joanna Lumley from the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. There are so many interesting side stories going on in this series, but the main story is about Maya Stern (Michelle Keegan) dealing with the murders of her sister and husband.
Maya was deployed and fighting a war when her sister was murdered, but after she was discharged from the military, she witnessed the murder of her husband, Joe (Richard Armitage). Still reeling from an incident that happened while she was in the military and the double deaths, Maya is further shocked to see her husband on a Nanny Cam playing with their two-year-old daughter. Was it a ghost?
Maya’s wealthy mother-in-law, Judith (Joanna Lumley), suspects that Maya is responsible for Joe’s death, as does DS Sami Kierce (Adeel Akhtar) and his partner DS Marty McGregor (Dino Fetscher), especially when they learn that the same gun was responsible for both deaths. And, if this storyline isn’t enough to keep you on the edge of your seat, we also have Maya learning that her sister was working with a conspiracy theorist/hacker, Corey (Laurie Kynaston) to find out if the Burkett pharmaceutical company owned by Judith was knowingly selling medication that was causing people to die.
Conclusion
I can’t stress enough how good Fool Me Once was. The acting, especially by Keegan and Lumley, is top shelf, but surprisingly, I found myself more interested in the story of Detective Sergeant Sami Kierce, played superbly by acter Adeel Akhtar.
Everything is connected, but there are enough red herrings thrown into Fool Me Once to keep you doubting who to trust. What happened to Maya while in the military? Why was Maya’s sister murdered? Can Maya trust her military buddy, Shane (Emmett J Scanlan)? Is Joe still alive? What horrible family secret is Judith hiding and what does it have to do with the death of two boys, many years ago?
So many questions? So many secrets. Fool Me Once is the perfect British thriller…and in the end, this eight-part-series was just the ticket to make me forget my horrid sinus infection. You can and you must watch Fool Me Once on Netflix.
