Bookish Season 1 Episode 2 Review: Deadly Nitrate, Part 1

On Bookish Season 1 Episode 2, “Deadly Nitrate, Part 1,” Hollywood arrives! Well, sort of. Stars Sandra and Stewart are certainly the hottest item in town.

They’re apparently a couple (and do seem to care deeply for each other), but Sandra being considerably older than Stewart isn’t the only odd thing about their dynamic. Also, she’s paranoid from the start, even before the first body drops.

That body belongs to a young woman who idolizes Stewart. At first, the chocolates that unintentionally poison her are believed to have been for Sandra, but a note soon suggests that they were sent by another crazed fan of her fiancé.

While Book is a bit disdainful toward Stewart, he welcomes the man’s assistance as he and Jack investigate. At some point, the two younger men separate and Suewrt heavily implies that he knows Gabriel’s secret—and may hide a similar one.

At the end of the hour, there’s another murder. Nerina, a journalist who’d just gotten juicy details about the supposed targeting of Sandra, is bludgeoned to death on set. Elsewhere, Gabriel and Trottie muse on when to tell Jack the truth.

While the words have not yet been said out loud, another flashback all but confirms that Book is a gay man living in a time when he can be arrested for it. In fact he almost is before Trottie enters, announces their engagement, and sweeps him away.

As ever, the dynamic between these two is something truly special. That it’s almost entirely platonic only makes that truer. Gabirel and Trottie may well be each other’s soulmates and have been since they were children in hospital together.

It makes Stewart’s comments to Jack about his “arrangement” and knowing Book has a similar one even more interesting. It’s not clear yet exactly what he means, but I’m curious how everyone will react if and when we find out.

Both Stewart and Sandra are a little too vain to be like Gabriel and Trottie regardless of their true relationship status. Still, whoever is the true target, I like them enough to hope they survive. I’m not sure how likely that is.

The case is intriguing, though the “crazed lover” twist currently on the table isn’t quite as interesting as the one hinted earlier in the episode, where Sandra admits to an alternate identity. But with two innocent victims, this doesn’t feel like a calculated killer.

The one true disappointment in the second storyline of the season is that Nora is almost entirely absent in the second half. While seeing a guest star play detective is fun, we already know she’s actually good at it, and I miss her insights.

We’re promised a thrilling second half to the plot with a good chance of at least one other death. Needless to say, Book’s shop is about to get a lot of attention. Is there really no such things as bad publicity? We may find out in the next hour.  

---

What did you think of this episode of Bookish? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!

Critic Rating:

Audience Rating:

 

Bookish airs Sundays at 10/9c on PBS

Check out our latest TV recommendations, updated weekly!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!