Death and Other Details, A Review

All suspects aboard.

SPOILER WARNING: I DO REVEAL MAJOR PLOT POINTS HERE, INCLUDING THE KILLER’S IDENTITY. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

Death and Other Details follows Imogene Scott (Violett Beane, The Flash) as she boards the SS Varuna for a week long vacation alongside best friend Anna (Lauren Patten) and her wealthy family, who all took Imogene in following the murder of her Mother, which has since remained unsolved. Onboard Imogene runs into Rufus Cotesworth (Mandy Patinkin), the private detective who originally worked on her Mother’s case but then left when the Collier family stopped paying him, devastating a young Imogene and leaving her bitter against “the world’s greatest detective”. The pair must but their past history aside however when fellow passenger Keith Trubitsky (Michael Gladis, Penny Dreadful) is found murdered in his room, leaving Imogene as the prime and only suspect.

Assisting in the investigation, Imogene discovers a natural flair for detection and a link to her own past when Trubitsky is actually revealed to be Rufus’ former partner. Realising that her being on the cruise is no coincidence Imogene and Rufus must dig into their own history and work out what they both missed the first time around or risk more murder and a potential arrest. With time running out can this would-be-sleuth figure her way out of this one or will history repeat itself and leave her stranded and in serious danger?

The murder mystery set aboard a cruise ship isn’t exactly a new concept for the genre (eg Death on the Nile, High Seas) and if I’m being totally honest Death and Other Details doesn’t exactly do anything ground-breaking in terms of storytelling. Despite this though I couldn’t help but love the series and its slightly typical format, it may be a story we’ve been told countless times before but I for one will never tire of hearing it. I love murder mysteries and always will do and for me the ones set aboard any sort of isolated vessel (eg boat, train, plane) are always going to have a special place in my heart. At this point they might be slightly predictable or even overdone but if it ain’t broke, don’t even try to fix it.

I really loved the narrative style used here and how Rufus spoke directly to the audience, quoting passages from his book almost as if we were his assistant in place of Imogene. The show’s social media also released weekly puzzles and codes to solve, hinting at things to come in future episodes and really using the fact that this was a mystery to its advantage. I also liked how we got to literally step into the flashback and memory scenes here as a way of building up the case, with Imogene picturing herself into each scene as a way of working through her detective process. We even got an episode where she played several of the different characters exploring her own memories and I really loved how the show used its writing to solve the murder. Death and Other Details was definitely a show that knew its audience and I really loved the almost interactive features throughout.

The relationship between Imogene and Rufus was really fascinating here and unlike your typical detecting duo, it definitely stood out amongst the genre and gave the series a leg-up where its setting and plotting might not have. Unlike your Sherlock and Watson or Poirot and Hastings the pair came together out of necessity and not any form of friendship, with Imogene stating several times that she hates Rufus for their shared history. Whilst the pair might not necessarily be enemies, especially by the series end, we don’t see Imogene as your typically detecting assistant who stands around making her ‘mentor’ look better. The pair are equals and I really loved how Rufus first met Imogene as a child and then encounters her years later, it was such an interesting dynamic. In many ways even Imogene is the better detective and I really hope we get a season two, just to see her develop her skills if nothing else.

Like I said above Death and Other Details doesn’t exactly add anything ground-breaking to the mystery format but the overall storyline was still fun to watch and there were some nice twists and turns along the way. I did like the reveal that ‘Keith Trubitsky’ was in fact an undercover Danny Turner and not the obnoxious jerk he made himself out to be, giving the mystery a personal stake for Rufus and not going down that cliché of having the most hated guest be killed off by an endless supply of suspects. The reveal with Imogene’s Mother (Linda Emond, Only Murders in the Building) also being the big bad of the series was also brilliant and I will admit it completely floored me.

Overall I enjoyed Death and Other Details a lot more than I was expecting and despite the slightly overdone genre the show was still able to pull off some nice surprises along the way. The whole murder aboard a cruise ship setup has been done to death at this point (pun fully intended) but if you’re like me and you can’t get enough then this will probably be the show for you. The central relationship between Imogene and Rufus, and Imogene’s own journey as a detective gave the show a nice edge and I really enjoyed the supporting cast and narrative style as well. This was definitely a show for mystery lovers written by mystery lovers and I really do hope we get a second season, I’d definitely be tuning in.