Ah, the eternally recurring and inevitably clichéd pieces of criticism that one encounters in almost every single review of every single instalment in the "Agatha Christie's Marple" series... It's always "True Agatha Christie lovers will hate it" this, and "the original Christie novel ruined" that. Please let me assure you; - I am an obsessive Agatha Christie admirer, and I'm perfectly okay with the fact that the series' writers took the liberty to make drastic changes to plot, characters and denouements. What matters mostly, to me at least, is that the adaptations remain respectful to the style, settings and storytelling of Christie's original creations. And that is definitely the case in ALL episodes of the series.
The most obvious change in many of the individual episodes, including here in "Secret of the Chimneys", is the inclusion of Miss Marple as the protagonist, simply because she wasn't the heroine in Christie's original novels. She's usually dragged in as a guest at a party, or as a close friend of one of the real lead characters and then gradually steps into the shoes the original novel's sleuth.
"Secret of Chimneys" is pure, old-fashioned Agatha Christie goodness. In 1955, in order to restore the status of their once glorious estate, Lord Caterham and his daughters invite a group of aristocrats gathers for a weekend of lobbying and Cognac-drinking at the Chimneys domain. Late in the first evening already, the eccentric guest and Austrian diplomate Von Steinach is shot and killed in a secret tunnel underneath the mansion. The crime quickly gets linked to the unsolved theft of a valuable diamond and the disappearance of a housemaid in 1932, but what exactly is the connection and who is the murderer? Slick spinster Marple to the rescue.
Although I have absolutely nothing against her, it's still difficult for me to accept Julia McKenzie in the role of Miss Marple, even after five more than adequate instalments. Her performance is very good, but Geraldine McEwen (lead actress in seasons 1-3) remains the ultimate Miss Marple to me. The supportive cast here is excellent, including familiar faces (Edward Fox, Adam Godley, ...) and a stunning natural beauty in the shape of Charlotte Salt.