The Curious Case of Mr. Pamuk
is a Downton Abbey fanfic written by Anise where Anna Smith, head housemaid at Downton Abbey, starts her own investigation into the death of Kemal Pamuk after he dies in Lady Mary's bed.
Completed, can also be read here.
Tropes that appear in this fanfic:
- Absurdly Elderly Mother: Implied with Viscount Branksome and his offscreen wife, considering that Branksome is mentioned to have been close to Violet's age (he is mentioned as a contemporary of her husband the previous Earl) and his son Evelyn and unnamed daughter are only a few years older than Mary.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: The story shows that Mary is wracked with guilt because Pamuk died while having sex with her, thinking it was her fault or that she was cursed.
- Adaptation Expansion:
- Bates' backstory. Between his work with Molesley and serving in the Beor Wars, he'd served the Napiers, where he'd been friends with the young Evelyn. Furthermore, the theft of the regimental silver Bates was imprisoned for was an even messier affair than in canon because Vera's accomplice attacked and wounded one of the guards. It was because of Evelyn's father that Bates only served a couple years for the theft and the rest of the details omitted, a debt that Bates pays by helping Napier get rid of Pamuk.
- The story also fleshes out the first few days after Pamuk died, particularly Mary's interactions with Matthew.
- Adaptational Explanation: The story is essentially a long one detailing how Kemal Pamuk could have died barring natural causes.
- Amateur Sleuth: Anna, taking things further than in the original series.
- Asshole Victim: Both Bates and Napier agree that poison was too good for someone like Pamuk.
- Bait-and-Switch: Mary and Anna are in the Crawley mausoleum when a shadowy figure enters and Anna at first thinks it's Patrick Crawley, back from the sea to claim his bride. Then the light reveals it to be Matthew.
- Big Bad: Evelyn Napier masterminded Kemal Pamuk's death on behalf of the British government, which also makes him responsible for Pamuk haunting Mary.
- Bittersweet Ending: Anna solves Kemal Pamuk's murder and saves Lady Mary, but nobody can reveal how he died and the British government's plan to kill Pamuk went off without a hitch.
- Call-Forward:
- Sybil suggests she might like working in a hospital.
- Violet alludes to her past as part of the court of the Duke of Edinburgh when he married Grand Duchess Marie, which is how she met Prince Kuragin in canon.
- Edith is already making writings on current events.
- The story suggests why there's a cat in the Downton kitchen during Series 1 Episode 5 when O'Brien is startled by a mouse and she suggests raising a cat to catch them.
- Christmas Episode: Chapter 24 depicts Patrick Crawley's last Christmas at Downton in 1911.
- Colliding Criminal Conspiracies: Napier had intended for Pamuk to die in his bed of a heart attack, but Pamuk's visit to Mary's room drastically complicated things because he died there. He still manages to cover it up with Bates' help.
- A Day in the Limelight: Chapter 19 temporarily deviates from the mystery plot to focus on Edith's unrequited feelings for Patrick.
- Deadly Prank: Subverted. Bates believes that Napier confused aconite for laudanum in an attempt to make Pamuk fall asleep, instead giving him a fatal overdose. However, it turns out that Napier deceived Bates into believing he only meant to prank Pamuk; he had planned to kill him all along.
- Dramatic Irony: When Mary appears at Anna's bedside for help moving Pamuk's corpse, Anna originally thinks it's thieves after the silver helped by Thomas. Funnily enough Thomas is indirectly responsible for this particular escapade after he was forced to help Pamuk find Mary's room.
- Driven to Suicide: Mary nearly jumps out a window due to her guilt about Pamuk.
- Driving Question: Who killed Kemal Pamuk?
- Eek, a Mouse!!: O'Brien is startled by a mouse while talking with Thomas. This being O'Brien she's more angry than scared.
- Emerging from the Shadows: Inverted when a figure enters the Crawley crypt amid a beam of light and is initially thought to be Patrick Crawley Back from the Dead, but then the beam dies down and is revealed to be Matthew.
- Everyone Has Standards: It's implied that Melville argued against killing Pamuk, if at least because he didn't think the outcome was a desirable one.
- Family Business: Viscount Branksome, his son Evelyn, and their cousin William Melville have all held posts in the foreign office or secret service.
- Forgotten First Meeting: Matthew mentions he actually met Patrick Crawley a few months before his death while Patrick was working in the Intelligence Office.
- Genre Shift: Downton Abbey was primarily a historical drama, but moves into a whodunit and Ghost Story. The last chapter shifts the story again into Stale Beer Spy Fiction, albeit in a much older setting.
- The Ghost: Sophie, a junior maid at Downton who has a tendency to be lazy.
- Graceful Loser: Evelyn Napier silently acknowledges that he's lost his chance for Mary."Take your chance, Matthew Crawley. Love her, and she may love you."
- Haunted House: Downton's north tower is said to be haunted by Jane Boleyn, while Mary is personally haunted by the ghost of Kemal Pamuk.
- The Heavy: Anna's efforts to solve Kemal Pamuk's murder are driven by his ghost, which nearly causes Lady Mary to kill herself at least once.
- Historical Domain Character: William Melville, head of Scotland Yard's Special Branch and later the British Secret Service. The Napiers are cousins of his.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: Discussed when Isobel talks about Jane Boleyn over dinner and suggests she's been misunderstood, demonized for betraying Anne Boleyn when she only wanted to keep her family home.
- It Runs in the Family: Kemal Pamuk suffered from heart problems inherited from his grandfather and was taking aconite as a tonic.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Mary often belittles Edith, but even Anna, who rarely has a bad word to say about anyone, has to privately criticize Edith's fashion choices and is tempted to steal and bury a dress so Edith won't find it.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Evelyn Napier told Bates to give Pamuk some laudanum to make him fall asleep, but actually gave him an overdose of his heart medication, letting Bates believe Napier mixed the vials up in a fit of jealousy.
- The Man Behind the Man: William Melville to Evelyn Napier. And behind him is an unknown political figure who ordered Pamuk's murder and handed the job to Melville, who contracted Napier.
- Medication Tampering: It turns out that Kemal Pamuk was poisoned via an overdose of his aconite heart medication.
- The Mole: Bates keeps Napier informed of events at Downton.
- Named by the Adaptation: Viscount Branksome's wife is named Callandra Grace here.
- Never Mess with Granny: Anna's grandmother Kerensa always protected her from her lecherous stepfather. Unfortunately she died and his behavior became worse now that there was nobody to stop him.
- The Nondescript: Evelyn Napier's valet... Alan? Adam? Alec? His appearance and even his name are easily forgotten, which makes him a convenient Red Herring.
- No Party Given: Averted here where Kemal Pamuk is explicitly mentioned as a member of the Young Turks political movement. This also serves as a plot point explaining why someone wants him dead.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Viscount Branksome (Evelyn Napier's father) pretended to be an oaf only interested in hunting and horse-racing. In reality, he was an agent in the British foreign office who's heavily implied to have killed for the British government. This also applies to Evelyn himself.
- Original Character: Paul Smithson, an assistant to Dr. Clarkson who's attracted to Anna. Anna uses him to get some information about Pamuk's death.
- Perspective Flip: The first couple chapters take place from Anna's point of view when she's awoken in the middle of the night by Lady Mary to move Pamuk's corpse.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Kemal Pamuk's sudden death kicks off the plot.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Evelyn. Despite masterminding Pamuk's murder, he considers it a one-time contract for the government.
- Spanner in the Works: Thomas Barrow's unwanted advances towards Kemal Pamuk complicates the British government's plot to kill Pamuk when the Turkish man uses Barrow to sneak into a bedroom where he dies.
- The Spymaster: William Melville, head of the British Secret Service.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Thomas is noted to have become even more unpleasant after the Duke of Crowborough's visit, implying he was deeply hurt by the rejection.
- Trauma Button: Kemal Pamuk, and Turkey in a more general manner, has turned into one for Mary, as a few mentions of him or the country nearly cause her to have a fainting fit during dinner.
- Underestimating Badassery: Robert dismisses William Melville as a jumped-up police detective who'd question the guests at dinner about some crime or other, not realizing Melville had a man murdered in his home.
