WFG RATING: A-

Lionsgate presents an Ace Entertainment Films production. Directed by Stephen Shimek. Produced by Zeus Zamani, Sara Huxley, April Kelley, and Brian Vilim. Written by Mark Brennan’ story by Alexandra Davison; based on the characters created by Gerard Miller and Brian O’Donnell. Cinematography by Brian Vilim. Edited by Matthew Jensen.

Stars Mischa Barton, Mido Hamada, Kojo Attah, Antonia Bernath, Raha Rahbari, Kathryn McGarr, and Richard Dillane. 

A private detective’s attempt to solve a murder becomes complicated in this 1930s-set mystery that definitely could be Mischa Barton’s breakout role. 

In 1934 Cairo, a man mysteriously was murdered at the British Embassy. The ambassador has hired Miranda Green, a well respected private detective to come to Cairo to help solve the crime. Upon her arrival, Miranda is introduced to the likes of the ambassador’s daughter Megan, Hollywood starlet Betty, reporter Walter, assistant Maggie, and translator Leila. She also meets Mahmoud, the ambassador’s loyal guard. 

As Miranda begins her investigation, the night she arrives, Maggie is found dead in her bed. Miranda suspects someone within the embassy may be responsible for both Maggie and the man’s murders. She soon learns who she can trust and who she can’t as she uncovers the murders that have led to a major conspiracy involving the Third Reich in Egypt. Will Miranda find out who is the murderer before she becomes their next victim?

In 2023, the Agatha Christie-inspired character Miranda Green came to life with Invitation to a Murder with Mischa Barton breaking heavily against type as the British-born investigator. She and director Stephen Shimek return for a second adventure and this one continues to show that with the right project, Barton can be free of playing nouveau-riche or those who aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. As a female Sherlock Holmes type with photographic memory, Miranda Green is definitely aces. 

Moving the setting to 1930s London, Barton once again shines in the role of Green, who is hired to solve the murder of a mysterious man in Egypt’s British Embassy. There are many suspects within the Embassy, but one can only think of why this particular man would die. One that definitely is ruled out is the loyal security of the Ambassador, Mamoud, excellently played by Mido Hamada. At first, you can see his reservations as he was the one hoping to solve the murder, but as the film goes on, he gradually warms up and serves as a potential Watson to Green’s Holmes persona. 

Those who love 1930s comedy and cinema will get a kick out of the various references to Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps and The Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup as it pertains to one character. That is Antonia Bernath’s Betty, a Hollywood starlet who claims she would be considered for roles in the films, but even Green isn’t convinced. As the film goes on, there are many twists that writer Mark Brennan puts in and we soon learn the UK isn’t the only game in town, but the possibility of Germany’s involvement in Egypt could be a deduced reason for the murder.

Murder at the Embassy is a fun murder mystery that will leave you guessing. Once again, Mischa Barton shines in what could be her greatest breakout role with Stephen Shimek’s love of nostalgia along with Mido Hamada’s Mamoud as a potential Watson to Miranda Green’s Sherlock Holmes-like persona. Definitely for lovers of nostalgia and murder mysteries. 

The film will be released in theaters. On Demand, and Digital on November 14.