In Magpie Murders viewers enjoyed the clever conceit of present day editor Susan Ryeland receiving help from author Alan Conway's 1950's fictional detective Herr Pund to solve a mystery. Anthony Horowitz created a delightful TV series adaptation from this book.
The second book, Moonflower Murders, is more of the same, except Susan is now hired to solve a mystery as a result of a book she edited for Alan Conway. Herr Pund is still present, guiding her in her quest. In fact, the fun double timeline and doubling of actors in the timeline roles is still present in this second adaptation. However, due to the complexity of the book's plot Horowitz made some tweaks to the TV storyline which streamlines the story, and unfortunately takes some of the punch out of the impact. This isn't a distraction unless the book was read first before watching the series which proves the saying of "The book is the book and the movie is the movie."
Both the book and the movie showcase the talented writing of Horowitz.