Death And Other Details

(Disney+)

From Inigo Montaya to Sam Francisco, Saul Berenson and Hal Wackner, Mandy Patinkin has crafted a number of truly memorable characters during his more than 45-year screen career.

So often a key or scene-stealing member of an ensemble, he finally gets the chance to take centre stage in this new 10-part murder mystery.

Apparently inspired by Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, Sherlock Holmes and Philip Marlowe, Patinkin’s Rufus Cotesworth can whistle Stravinsky in two octaves, uncovered the Queen of Sweden’s plot to commit her son and confesses he has learned two things during 30 years as a detective for hire: Never attempt to bribe a national parks employee and that finding something “real” is rare and precious.

One case though has haunted him for almost two decades: who murdered Kira Scott? Despite promising 11-year-old Imogene that he would bring the car bomber to justice, Rufus only managed to come up with a name – Viktor Sams. Telling the girl that he could do no more broke her heart – and wounded his.

So when she spies him aboard the recently restored S.S. Varuna, the now adult Imogene (The Resident’s Violett Beane) flies into a rage. The outburst is all part of the rising tensions among those invited on the boat by Imogene’s surrogate father Lawrence Collier (David Marshall Grant).

A potent combination of Succession, Triangle Of Sadness, Knives Out and The White Lotus by way of Death On The Nile, Death And Other Details’ constant twists and turns do require a little patience and perseverance from the viewer, but if you want a dark character-filled dramedy that challenges you to solve its mysteries, then this might be the most fun you’ll have all summer.