Review: It’s a Mystery, Fringe 2024

“It’s a Mystery” by Tim Benzie is one of those Edinburgh Festival Fringe treasures – an impulse booking that turns out to be great.

The hour-long show is really a look into why we might love murder mysteries, aka Who Dunnit.

Does that sound great? Well, I don’t love murder mysteries. I like murder mysteries, but if I’m in a bookshop, I won’t head to the cosy crime section first.

We, therefore, already had a mystery – would I like “It’s a Mystery?”

Spoiler: I did!

Tim Benzie is the creator and host of “Solve Along A Murder She Wrote” and has three degrees. He knows his stuff and is an excellent communicator. 

The costume changes were just the icing on the cake.

Tone

I think “It’s a Mystery” explores why Tim Benzie likes Who Dunnits as much as he does. That, as it turns out, is a good lens or template for why you might love murder mysteries. Or, as in my case, just appreciate a good one.

The Golden Age of murder mystery books was during the terrible World War era. Cosy crime is said to sell well during hardship, financial stress, and social change.

Oh, and yes, we’re enjoying a boom in the genre right now. Go figure.

Tim’s tone is friendly and cheerful. Despite the grim topic, the whole hour benefits from the tall Aussie’s charismatic smile.

There are quotes from great minds, examples of characters from books, and reflections on societal norms and problems, such as racism of the time. None of this is dry and academic, though. The whole hour passes by as quickly as a well-structured, entertainment-first magazine article or TikTok video on the topic. 

What to expect

There is lightweight audience participation. At first, it might sound more scary than it is – at least in my experience. Tim simply wants standees to represent characters in a murder mystery. Once assigned roles, in my session, these brave audience members aren’t tapped again.

There is the chance to shout out ideas. We do have a murder mystery to solve as a wrapper around the show, and there are some questions along the way. It all helps make this more perky than an hour-long lecture.

They say there are three main reasons why someone in a cosy crime novel becomes a murderer; for money, for sex or for revenge.

Which of those three are you most likely to murder for? I was in a room with killers for hire. 

That said, this isn’t a stand-up comedy routine. There are funny moments, but there are also profound moments, mainly when we use Tim as an avatar of cosy crime fans.

Theatre 2 in TheSpace is flat and dark, no stacked seating but there was a single, busy and effective fan in the corner. This week (it’s early yet) Edinburgh has been warm and some of the shows sweltering. “It’s a Mystery” was one of the most environmentally pleasant venues I’ve been in all season. 

Lastly, and I’m being cautious of spoilers, but as I’ve hinted, expect this interactive essay to get a bit personal and loop back into recent history and the mistakes society has made.

Overall

I’m glad the wheel of fortune took me to see Tim Benzie and “It’s a Mystery”.  I sense this is his ‘other’ show, and I might go see his main one now.

I’ve friends who are published murder mystery authors, and while it’s a bit scary, I think I’d even recommend that they go see “It’s a Mystery”. Why scary? I bet they have strong opinions on the topic.

It’s an easy recommendation for the rest of us. Pop into TheSpace, settle down in a darkened room and succumb to the gentle lure of murder.