Fool me Once, the Netflix mini-series is a murder mystery with many potential suspects and conclusions, and meandering sub-plots, which all come together in a neat, little story.
Within a year, Maya lost her sister and husband. At his funeral, she reminisces about the best times she spent with her husband. She is surprised by the appearance of Detective Sami Kierce there. He is assigned to catch her husband Joe’s killer. He’s dragging his feet to find a conclusion to the mystery and Maya can’t help but be annoyed. This is where Fool me Once, the Netflix mini-series based on a Harlan Coben novel, begins. It is a murder mystery with many potential suspects and conclusions, meandering sub-plots, which all come together in a neat, little story.
Michelle Keegan stars as Maya Kendrick who finds herself in a position to raise her little daughter alone in a big house. Keegan, as Maya, talks with the charisma of a star and walks with the confidence of an action hero. Most of the story is told through her so she gets ample screen time and she owns it. On the advice of a friend, Maya puts a nanny cam in her daughter’s room so she can keep an eye on her when Maya leaves to work as a flight instructor. When she finds her dead husband on the nanny cam footage one morning, she sets off to do her own investigation on the mystery.
In the show, other characters are doing their own investigation as well. At times, the cops are the only ones that seem to be going nowhere with theirs. They have their reasons though. Sami, played by Adeel Akhtar, is initially alone on the case but has been losing consciousness and missing time. He doesn’t know why this is happening and assumes it must be because of his previous entanglement with alcoholism. Adeel portrays the quintessential detective here, ably hitting all the conventional notes. Tired, anxious (he is engaged to be married soon with a child on the way), sick, grumpy and annoyed too when he is partnered with a newbie, Marty Mcgreggor played by, Dino Fetscher (sweet and charming in his performance, bringing in much needed lightness in the show).
Joe Burkett’s (Richard Armitage) murder is a big deal mainly because he belongs to the richest 1%, being the heir of a major pharmaceutical company owned by his family. His mother Judith Burkett is played by Joanna Lumley. She is not terribly fond of Maya and is wary of the lack of emotions displayed by the grieving wife, suggesting her to seek therapy as a way to deal with it. Throughout the show, there are many scenes between the two as they log heads about the family’s past and Joe’s death. In these scenes, the show really comes alive as we see the in-laws let it rip on each other as they have no reason to be polite anymore, which must’ve been a case in the past for Joe’s benefit. Lumley is terrific at playing disingenuous and uptight. But Judith also loved Joe and loves her granddaughter which makes her sympathetic.
Maya was in the special forces of the military and her ex-colleague and buddy Shane (Emmett J. Scanlan) helps her with her investigation. The show presents him as one of the numerous untrustworthy characters even though his actions are only the result of concern and care for his friend. The least likeable part of the show is how it typically tries to trick us into not trusting anyone. The early episodes end with a short montage of characters looking shady doing ordinary stuff like reading texts, or closing car doors. While it builds anticipation and pushes the audience to play the next episode, it also leaves us feel cheated when it turns out to be a non-issue.
It all comes together at the end though. All the pieces perfectly fit the puzzle. The show also looks good, certainly having an extensive costume budget and overall production design. Even Detective Kierce is seen dressed sharply which is rare for a detective and for a person that has so much going on in his life.
The conclusion is swift and tragic. But, viewers will be satisfied overall as the underlying mystery is fascinating and the final twist is excellent.