User Reviews

Appropriate Adult covered the Fred and Rosemary West murders, The Widower covered the murders of Malcolm Webster, then came this, another mini-series about The Castlerock Suicides, real life crimes exposed as murders, I hoped it would be another good watch. Basically in Portadown, Northern Ireland, Colin Howell (James Nesbitt) is a deeply religious man, a member of the Baptist church, he is also father of ten and a former lay preacher, and a dentist by occupation. Despite his initial beliefs stopping him, Colin starts an affair with Hazel Buchanan (Genevieve O'Reilly), she also has strong religious beliefs, but to continue it Colin says that they are meant to be, or God would not have allowed it. Colin is convinced that he and Hazel should be together, he no longer feels the same way for his wife Lesley (Laura Pyper), and Hazel has complained of a loveless marriage to husband Trevor (EastEnders' Glen Wallace). Colin suggests that it would be too painful if the truth was revealed to their partners, so he suggests they should ease their suffering, by that he means killing them and making it look like suicide. So with Hazel's help he sets up a system for both Lesley and Trevor that they will die whilst unconscious or asleep, this will be done by suffocating using car fumes under bed sheets or in a car, and then their bodies placed elsewhere in a suicidal guise. As time passes Colin and Hazel try to continue their now strained relationship, both are feeling guilty for their actions, and of course their beliefs are causing them to become concerned that God will punish them, and of course, bad things happen to them that make this apparent. In the end, after almost twenty years of everyone believing that the suspicious deaths were just suicide, Colin finally comes forward to confess his actions, he confirms he was motivated by his lover, she claims she acted under duress. Colin Howell was found guilty of the two murders and was sentenced to life imprisonment, Hazel Buchanan was also sentenced to life imprisonment for her involvement in the crime, Howell also later pleaded guilty to sexual assault on nine female patients over a period of several years. Also starring Patrick O'Kane as Victor Buchanan and Nina Woods as Lauren Howell. Nesbitt gives a great performance as the delusional man who murdered two innocent people for the sake of an affair, O'Reilly is also good as his lover, the fact-based story of the two lovers who thought they could get away with murder is uneasy viewing, but it is compelling as well to see how it all unfolds,a most watchable crime drama. Very good!

Colin is clearly a psychopath, able to mimic emotions, smiling as he coolly admits to double homicide and how he has sorted it with God, yet James Nesbitt plays him with such gusto, it's hard to focus on the plot.

There's no chemistry between Colin and Hazel, not to the effect that Hazel would follow Colin blindly into a double homicide. The fact that she walks away due to the guilt makes her less damned in my opinion, but in this portrayal it's all too predictable, instead of stunning.

The truth is far more twisted than fiction when it is discovered that Colin molested women in his dentist chair; but I wanted to know how many before he even met Hazel. Again overplayed and under-researched, the dramatisation simply becomes less compelling, because frankly the whole thing was already outrageous. What their tale needed was a deeper, grittier look at the two killers and those that surround them most.

If the supporting "cast" to this nightmare were this dense as portrayed, it is a far more intriguing mystery, and has a lot more interesting things to say, about society, religion and the mundanity of would-be killers in our midst.

People often are quick to ask the stereotypical and frankly racist question of the "prevailing danger on the streets of Johannesburg" and I laugh. For the very week I arrived in London, Neo Nazis had caused rioting, Lee Rigby was massacred in the streets and an old lady was beheaded in her garden. Our world is "dumb" and honestly, when shows like Jerry Springer thrive the world over, are any of us really safe?

Sometimes I think creators forget that they are telling a biographical story and owe to themselves and this case, victims, to be almost journalistic in their approach. Especially when so little relief is to be had by the families.

Easy to follow. Didn't know this was something that actually happened until I put it on. If it didn't state that it was based on true events I would think it was very unbelievable

I wish it was longer as there wasn't enough character development for me, everything happened so fast. It just didn't show that they really loved each other enough to murder their partners.

Towards the end, one minute he's in her house shouting at her, the next he's moved on and had a baby with someone else. It wasn't the direction I thought it was going to go.

It is worth the watch if you're into murder etc but I wouldn't watch again

Also James Nesbitts eyebrows are annoying.

I've been wanting to watch this for some time. Tuned in and watched the whole series last night. Was not impressed. They didn't build enough character development to believe what occurred did. And what a moronic person for a dentist. He went to all that effort to make it look like a suicide. Lol. Was that really the way he did it. Doesn't carbon monoxide carry thru the whole house even with doors shut? it's an odorless gas! I was just watching that whole agonizing part like wtf! They glossed over lots of areas and it was confusing when he sees Hazel again and the way the events unfold. I think it could have been better. White house farm was miles beyond this. I have to say I was disappointed.

The Secret is based in real events occurring in Ireland in the 1990s and is an examination of just how far people can go in the name of passion. The Secret isn't a crime drama so much as a psychological thriller. Two people, brought together by their love of God and the Baptist Church, fall in lust, in spite of their faith and their seemingly functioning marriages and families. They allow themselves to act on their passion, drawing comfort from God's forgiveness, and their faith that their infidelity is part of His plan. They spiral, fighting against both their fever for the forbidden, and the restrictions of their church and marriages, eventually convincing themselves that it would be a mercy to put their spouses out of the pain of their faithless marriages. Told over a span of 20 years, this is a jaw-dropping example of how incredibly ordinary people can convince themselves to do incredibly wicked things. James Nesbit and Genevieve O'Reilly both do a cracking job portraying Colin Howell and Hazel Buchanan; a dentist and a school teacher who allow their affair to lead them beyond temptation and into complete psychopathy. Following their conspired crime the lovers drift apart over time, as Howell Howell gives into his demons, violating patients and a willing Buchanan while they're anaesthetised, and Buchanan suffocating under the intensity of the ties that bind her Howell. Nesbit's ever mobile face is a total counterpoint to O'Reilly's flat affect as they descend into madness and then crawl back out, both finding a new normal in fresh, highly suburban relationships. It's only when God strikes back, with the death of Howell's son, that Howell starts unravelling and doesn't stop until their crimes are laid bare. The Secret moves at a good pace over 4 episodes. It doesn't attempt any fancy footwork by bringing in plot loops and the dialogue, and characterisation are all on point. The mundanity of the 90s fashion and decor underline how unbelieveable the derailing of these 2 'normal' people really was. The Secret is a great example of truth sometimes being stranger than fiction. The series won't dazzle you with plot twists but it will remind you that in the midst of our 'normal', there's sometimes a bit of evil afoot.

For me, this is one of James Nesbitt's best performances. He is really good as the outwardly decent, devout Baptist family man who is secretly a bit creepy and actually willing to murder his wife and the husband of his lover, Hazel, so they can be together.

The story spans 20 years, and covers the start of his affair with Hazel, the planning and execution of the murders and then what happens in the subsequent years as he and Hazel try to move on with their lives despite the guilt. Nesbitt is excellent in showing the gradual decline of Colin Howell, and his descent into a sort of madness, including some very disturbing activities in his dental practice.

I would liked to have seen more of the ever-watchable Jason Watkins, as one of the church elders, but he only featured in the first two episodes.

This 4 part series is based on true events, yet it was a case I had not read about, so I was intrigued to see how it all panned out. Very good and highly recommended.

Well he was fond of going out and leaving the children unattended! Every couple of days he buggered off in the middle of the night and left them.

Basically he was a right arse wasn't he?!! A bully and a manipulative narcissist!

Very well done and well acted. James Nesbitt is always very good.

If you want a couple of hours of well written true crime; this is for you!