Ludwig is closer to Murder She Wrote territory than the TV shows I normally watch, but much like that series, it’s a perfect match of actor and material. A writing student recommended it to me; the first season came out in the UK last year, and is now on Brit Box.
David Mitchell (Peep Show, Mitchell and Webb) stars as a famous, brilliant and reclusive puzzle designer whose cop twin brother (also played by Mitchell) goes missing. His sister-in-law (Anna Maxwell Martin) recruits him to find pose as the brother, sneak into the police station, and find out what happened. Before he can examine the brothers desk, though, he’s called away to a murder.
As it turns out, his puzzle skills make him really good at solving murders.
Ludwig isn’t Sherwood. There’s not a ton of social commentary and it’s light on realism, but Mitchell is compelling and charming as a detective who can unpack a Rube Goldberg murder plot yet doesn’t understand police procedure or how to park a car.
It’s a clever idea, executed impeccably. The weekly cases are interesting, the clues to the conspiracy surrounding the brother’s disappearance are parcelled out really well, and Mitchell and Martin are great together. Ludwig is a lot of fun.
In August the second Ethan Brand mystery comes out, A Lonesome Place for Murder. The series is set in Blaine, Washington, along the US-Canadian border.
I have nothing interest to add to the manufactured unpleasantness over tariffs, other than to say border towns like Blaine are incredibly affected by tourism and travel. My heart goes out to the people there.
How this will play into the series if at all, I have no idea yet.
A Lonesome Place for Murder is about a smuggling tunnel, uncovered when a horse the chief of police is buying takes a wrong step. (Spoiler: the horse is fine).
Inside the tunnel is a body, on which Ethan finds the wallet of a friend who disappeared ten years ago. Either his missing friend Tyler Rash is the victim of a murder, or the number one suspect.
The Nolan Chase novels are my take on a small town mystery and similar influences—Longmire and Jesse Stone, Clint Eastwood movies like Coogan’s Bluff, reruns of Rockford Files… If you like that kind of stuff, I hope you consider pre-ordering A Lonesome Place for Murder.
Pre-order from Barnes and Noble (US)
Pre-order from Bookshop.Org (US)
Pre-order from Indie Bookstores (CA)
You can pre-order A Lonesome Place for Murder from Barnes and Noble as well:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-lonesome-place-for-murder-nolan-chase/1146663206
Ludwig is a nice little puzzle box. Mitchell and the ensemble work will together. It'll be interesting what series 2 will bring.