Wicked Little Letters (2023)

Promise: we won’t say who’s writing the letters. Wicked Little Letters basically will, and early, long before the town catches on. Good thing the mystery was never the main event. It’s 1920 in Littlehampton, a seaside town in England, and devout Edith Swan has received nineteen outrageously rude letters, all unsigned. Her stern father wants someone punished, and every finger points next door at Rose Gooding, a loud, rowdy Irish single mom and Edith’s former friend. Rose ends up locked away to await trial. Only police officer Gladys Moss notices the handwriting doesn’t match, and when her boss orders her to drop it, she recruits a few local ladies to investigate on the side. Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley are a joy as feuding neighbors, and the whole cast leans into the comedy. The story comes from a real scandal. A 6.8 because Colman and Buckley are wonderful and the puzzle gives itself away. $37.13 says you start signing every note you leave on the fridge this week, just to be safe.

What works: Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley are a fantastic comic pairing, and Gladys’s amateur investigation squad is a delight.

What doesn’t: As a mystery it’s not very clever, since the culprit becomes obvious well before anyone in town figures it out.

Who it’s for: Fans of cozy British period comedies who care more about great actors trading barbs than about a tricky puzzle.