The Leaking Bookstore (2022)

Actually Quite Good

I stumbled upon this drama while checking the “Coming Soon” info in Viki. The title was interesting and so was the synopsis mentioning Sherlock Holmes (I have read every Sherlock Holmes story several times), so I put it on my Watchlist. Slightly deterred by the low ranking, but determined to give it a try, I started this show expecting a charming tale about amateur sleuths, some light-hearted banter, perhaps a bloated corpse or two, but overall a pleasant experience.

Ha! What I got was a dark tale of murder, rape, sexual abuse, lies, blackmail and yes, there was a bloated corpse. And a corpse in a car on fire. And a corpse on the beach with only one set of footsteps (but we all know it’s not suicide!). So once I adjusted my mindset, I began to enjoy the drama. It reminded me of British mystery shows, with the setting not the dark underbelly of London but the – for me – exotic location of Taiwan. I had never watched a Taiwanese show before, so that part alone was interesting. Dark and gritty, with many ambiguous characters who hide secrets, and lie to their friends, and yet we can understand why they act the way they act. I enjoy shows where not everything is black and white, good vs evil, and this one certainly fit that bill.

The murder mystery plot itself was okay, nothing spectacular but certainly not boring. There are only 10 episodes of about 45 min each, so it was a relatively quick watch. If you’re a fan of the crime & mystery genre, and want to watch something a little different, give this one a try.

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