Father Brown accompanies a friend of his to a Party held by an eccentric American millionaire, he is slightly uncomfortable with the setting, as the house is virtually a fortress, with only one exit, so how does a dead body appear?
So, this is unlike any of the twelve episodes that came before, there is much more of a complexity and originality to this story , The Secret Garden is a deep, complex mystery, but it is definitely one that you need to concentrate on, or you will lose the thread of the plot.
It's a little slow in places, but the plot is definitely an absorbing one, that alone should hold your interest, I really liked the grizzly nature of the crimes, I didn't think the solution was totally satisfying, it should have been a bit more dramatic.
Quite macabre killings here, no cosy teatime poisoning or evening shooting, Father Brown is having to solve crimes, where the victims were decapitated, more Hammer Horror than early evening mystery.
A quality cast assembled for this one, I really did enjoy the performances of Charles Dance, Cyril Luckham and Ferdy Mayne.
What a shame that this was the end of Kenneth More's Father Brown, fortunately he'd return with a new face some years later.
7/10.