To build a case
John enters his missing twin’s police world and finds himself expected to solve a real murder.
Open the episodeEpisodes
Twelve puzzles. One larger mystery.
Start with a spoiler-light brief, then open a dedicated guide for the puzzle method, James-story connection, related people and places, and a clearly marked solution desk.
Reviewed guide · Sources & corrections
Complete episode guide
Twelve cases, with enough detail to choose
Each spoiler-light summary explains the case premise and dominant reasoning lens. Full clues, James developments and solution boundaries remain inside the guide.
Series 1
The impersonation guides
Six cases in which John solves murders while trying to survive inside James’s identity.
The manor-house case
A disappearance at a grand house becomes a closed-system problem of movement, timing and testimony.
Open the episodeThe walking-tour murder
A Cambridge tour ends in murder, making the order of its stops and public sightlines part of the case.
Open the episodeThe impossible construction-site crime
John models an apparently impossible construction-site death as a sequence of permitted and blocked moves.
Open the episodeBack to school
A headmaster’s death reconnects John with his puzzle-setting past and an institution’s selective memory.
Open the episodeThe disguise cracks
The weekly case and John’s deception converge as Lucy is pulled into danger and knowledge begins to shift.
Open the episodeSeries 2
The consultant guides
Six cases after John’s relationship with the police changes and the missing-brother investigation continues.
The theatre case
John returns officially as a consultant when an unusual double confession turns a theatre into the puzzle board.
Open the episodeThe wedding witnesses
A murder at a wedding ceilidh appears to happen before a room full of witnesses.
Open the episodeThe influencer case
A death in central Cambridge creates a movement-and-CCTV problem with gaps between fields of view.
Open the episodeThe snooker puzzle
A snooker-linked murder asks John to reconstruct angles, expertise and what a player would notice.
Open the episodeThe sushi-bar case
An unlikely witness and a compact room make physical layout central to what could be observed.
Open the episodeClose to home
A death close to home pushes the immediate case and the James investigation toward a major turn.
Open the episodeEpisode directory
Every episode guide in one place
Start with a series, the Christmas special or an individual spoiler-gated guide.
New viewer route
Where should I start?
The safest answer depends on how much of the long James mystery you want revealed.
First visit
Begin with Series 1, Episode 1. It establishes John's impersonation, the police ensemble and the rules of the long mystery.
Open the first case →Returning for Series 2
Read the Series 1 finale brief and James chronology before the Series 2 opener. Both pages honour the site's spoiler setting.
Refresh the finale →Case-only browsing
Use the spoiler-light brief at the top of any guide, then stop at its clearly marked solution boundary.
Set your spoiler boundary →Official BBC video
Watch both series trailers
The Series 1 trailer and Series 2 first look are now available together as privacy-enhanced YouTube embeds.
Open the trailers and video desk →Source control
Hosted by the publisher
The videos are embedded from the official BBC channels rather than copied or re-uploaded by the Casebook.
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