A Taste For Murder TV Series – Italian Sunshine, Pasta, And More Than One Twisty Cozy Mystery

Who doesn’t love a brand new cozy mystery TV series, especially one set on the Italian coast where the sun is always shining, the food is plentiful, and the crimes come thick and fast?

That’s what you get with A Taste for Murder, a recent addition to Britbox in the US and ITVX in the UK.

Starring Phyllis Logan, this is a show that promises charm and warmth but, as I quickly discovered, also has plenty of bite with more tension and uncomfortable moments than I was expecting!

What is A Taste For Murder All About?

A Taste for Murder is a six‑part British crime drama created by Matt Baker, set almost entirely on the Italian island of Capri.

The series follows Metropolitan Police DCI Joe Mottram, a star detective who retreats to his in‑laws’ home in Capri with his teenage daughter after the sudden death of his wife.

Joe is officially on a break from policing, but he quickly becomes entangled in local murder investigations when crime starts touching the family’s world.

What starts off as a one-off helping the local police soon develops into Joe stepping up for every investigation, if only to escape his own grief and inability to properly talk to his teenage daughter, Angelica.

Angelica, for her part, is also reeling from the loss of her mother and distracts herself by hanging out with a local boy who is not at all as sweet as he seems.

The Who’s Who Of The Show

At the heart of the series is Joe Mottram, played by Warren Brown, a familiar face from shows like Trigger Point and The Responder.

Joe is brilliant at his job but emotionally closed off, and the loss of his wife in a hit-and-run has left him struggling to connect with his daughter and to process his own grief.

Angelica, played by Beau Gadsdon (The Crown), arrives in Capri heartbroken and angry, grieving her mother while feeling abandoned by her work‑obsessed father.

Phyllis Logan plays Elena Da Vinale, Joe’s mother‑in‑law and the matriarch of the Italian side of the family.

Elena is described as witty, fiercely loyal, and loving, and she runs the family restaurant that becomes both a safe haven and a pressure cooker for simmering tensions.

Her husband Gennaro Da Vinale, played by Urbano Barberini, has his own secrets which he tries very hard to keep from the rest of the family.

Local police inspector Lara Sarrancino, played by Cristiana Dell’Anna, becomes Joe’s partner in crime‑solving, forming an “odd couple” pairing that evolves into a believable and respectful partnership over the six episodes.

Food, Family, and Murder

One of the series’ most distinctive hooks is the way it ties each mystery to food and the restaurant world.

BritBox’s original pitch highlighted that classic Italian cuisine is the main ingredient in each episode’s central murder mystery, using dishes, recipes, and cooking rituals to connect characters and clues.

Sofia’s parents’ restaurant is a key setting, and Joe reconnects with his late wife’s family and with Angelica through shared meals and kitchen scenes that run alongside the darker investigations.

Visually, the show leans into luscious plates of pasta, seafood, and local specialties, contrasting mouth‑watering food with deadly secrets.

Each crime touches the world of cuisine and hospitality in some way, whether through restaurant staff, suppliers, or high‑end diners, which gives the series a consistent thematic through‑line.

Mystery With A Darker Edge

A Taste for Murder is set and filmed on Capri, giving us the kind of escapist Mediterranean backdrop that works really well in highlighting the juxtaposition between the serene beauty and the underbelly of crime that we see.

It’s hard to imagine dark things happening in such a beautiful place, which I guess is the point of using Capri as a backdrop.

And with that comes the edgier storylines. This isn’t Midsomer Murders or Death in Paradise, where the focus is always on the crime.

Here, I think creator Matt Baker was really going for something more in the direction of gritty while trying to keep that sense of cozy.

It’s a fine balance because on the one hand you have the ‘who killed the host of the murder mystery weekend?’ and on the other there’s drug dealing, mafia, and the odd F bomb being dropped.

There’s nothing too heavy at all, and it does really well to find the right mix of family dynamics and puzzle solving with the more unsavory elements of Italian crime. Just be aware that it’s not all sweetness and light!

Phyllis Logan – The Queen Of Puzzles

For cozy‑mystery fans, Phyllis Logan is a major draw. She’s best known internationally as Mrs. Hughes from Downton Abbey, and viewers will also recognize her from the recent cozy mystery Murder Most Puzzling.

In A Taste for Murder, Logan’s Elena Da Vinale is the emotional anchor of the family, a strong, warm, occasionally sharp‑tongued matriarch trying to hold everyone together after her daughter’s death.

Elena runs the restaurant and is deeply plugged into Capri’s community, which often makes her an informal information hub for Joe’s investigations.

She embodies a blend of old‑school hospitality and fierce protectiveness, giving Logan plenty of space to deliver the grounded, character‑rich performance that we cozy mystery viewers tend to love.

Will There Be A Second Season?

As the show has just been released, it’s too soon to tell if we are going to get a second season of A Taste for Murder; however, there are definitely enough threads to continue the story.

There is a bit of a twist at the end relating to the investigation into the death of Joe’s wife back in the UK, and Joe has been offered a temporary transfer to the Naples police if he wants it, so watch this space.

I should also point out that creator Matt Baker knows exactly how to put together a great show; after all, he is the writer on shows like Professor T, Hotel Portofino, and Patience!

Overall, I really enjoyed A Taste for Murder, and with just six episodes, it was a very easy binge. Also, the food looked insanely good yum yum!