After the success of the BBC’s sensational production of And Then There Were None in December 2015, Agatha Christie fans have been fervently anticipating the network’s latest adaptation from the Queen of crime’s library.

This winter has brought a new edition of one of the English author’s short stories, The Witness for the Prosecution, to our screens and has compelled and unsettled audiences with its sinister premise and depraved atmosphere.

With the somewhat PG and often humorous Poirot and Marple led stories making up the bread and butter of her fame, those such as And Then There Were None and The Witness for the Prosecution have always been lesser known by followers. Subsequently, the chilling narratives of these fresh dramas, coupled by their explicitly dark undertone has introduced viewers to a more demonic side of Christie’s work.

The Witness for the Prosecution itself is set in socially and economically diverse 1923 London, where a rich and randy socialite, Emily French (Kim Cattrall) is bored of her loud parties, fine clothes and handsome little play fellows. Her eye begins to wander as she searches for something, or someone new to keep her entertained.

But when she comes across a timid and somewhat pathetic young man called Leonard Vole (Billy Howle) who is struggling to make ends meet in post-war urban circles, she lures him back to her home under the pretence of motherly care.

Dazzled by her world of wealth and indulgence, he accepts her startling offer to be her new distraction; her paid companion with let’s just say, a very unspecified job description.

Then several weeks later, Miss French’s sullen maid Janet (Monica Dolan) finds her mistress bludgeoned to death in a vicious attack.

With no other suspects to hand, the young Leonard is nabbed by the police and charged with her homicide.

On paper, he seems the obvious choice as the malicious murderer. According to Miss French’s lawyer, Leonard was aware that his employer had decided to leave him her vast fortune and extravagant home in her will.

At the same time, the hysterical maid claims that Leonard was nasty and manipulating and her grief stricken mistress had found out that Leonard was married, thus insisting that he leave and never return.

So, with the theory that he killed to protect his promised fortune, the court and the public pre-condemn the young man as a murderer and see his trial as no more than a formality.

But as all this goes on, lawyer John Mayhew (Toby Jones) is convinced that the defendant is innocent, the evidence is no more than circumstantial and that he has been cruelly set up.

Yet, with Leonard saying one thing and untrustworthy characters throwing shadows of doubt into the mix, the case is thrown into chaos and the jury, the lawyers and the audience are left wondering whether Leonard is the innocent lamb he appears to be, or are the stories of his darker side true?

With only three suspects in the spotlight, who committed this cold-blooded murder and who will fall victim to the calculated lies of the witness for the prosecution?

All-in-all, this was a first-rate adaptation of Christie’s short story and proved to reveal a different but fascinating side to the author’s literary style and genius understanding of crime and psychology.

Its tricky plot-line and themes were held up wonderfully by an unusually limited number of characters and was bathed in sickly darkness, with no evident break from the storm in the form of comedy, moral fibre or the presence of freedom and beauty often represented by the countryside in Christie’s novels.

The script was excellent, with a high degree of intensity and thrill, but with a clear structure and an oddly insightful journey into the realm of desperate human need and manic emotions.

The casting was ideal with each of the few players bringing energy to their characters and exploring an unique form of ugliness, eccentricity and a hunger for love or recognition.

Witness for the Prosecution is the drama to watch if you want a nail-biting and mind-meddling mystery and