The new BBC series seems like a classic murder mystery. Each episode of the six-parter starts with an untimely, odd death and ends with a here’s-how-it-happened moment from a genius sleuth. Yet somehow, it feels fresh, surprising and funny.
The story follows John Taylor (David Mitchell, pictured above), a recluse and legendary puzzle setter, known by his pseudonym “Ludwig”. When his identical twin brother James (also Mitchell) disappears, his sister-in-law begs John to help. So he impersonates his brother (a detective chief inspector) to find out what happened. No one at the station notices the swap and John finds himself cracking cases as if they were puzzles at the back of a magazine.
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I also enjoyed reading by Benjamín Labatut. I knew little about it before starting and recommend that you take the same approach. It’s an unusual book about mathematics and the mind; part-truth, part-fiction. I will say no more!