Nine Puzzles ~ 10 Years and You Haven’t Caught the Killer?

“Nine Puzzles” is a 2025 Korean drama series, with 11 episodes, categorized as Psychological Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Police procedural, and Murder Mystery; a Hulu Original, streaming on Disney+/Hulu.

SUMMARY: A high schooler who was once the prime suspect in the murder of her uncle grew up and became a criminal profiler. It’s been ten years, and the detective initially assigned to the case continues to keep her on his radar because he thinks she did it. But she’s so smart, nobody has figured out how to catch her. However, when a series of murders occurs and each incident is marked by a puzzle piece, the detective and the profiler have to work together to solve these crimes. Could it be the profiler is a serial killer?

♦ I Still SAY She Did it!

In “Nine Puzzles “, Yoon E-Na got out of class at 8 o’clock and caught the bus home. When she got home, not sure why, but the house was dark. She called out for her uncle. He should be home, but there was no answer. It was dark, so Yoon E-Na walked slowly. She stepped on a puzzle piece, picked it up, continued walking, and suddenly felt something wet and sticky under her feet. By the,n she could see with light from the outside shining into the room. Her uncle was lying in a pool of blood. He had been murdered.

The police arrived, examined the crime scene. It a clearly a crime. The uncle had been stabbed in the back of the neck with an awl. There was no sign of forced entry and no signs of a struggle. To make matters more complicated, when the police began to question Yoon E-Na, she claimed a loss of memory. Kim Han-Saem, the detective who a investigating the homicide and questioning her, found her memory loss too convenient. But the police had to release her because there a insufficient evidence. Insufficient? There wasn’t any evidence that could be used to arrest and convict her.

Ten years passed, and the murder has not been solved. Yoon E-Na visits the police station frequently to ask WHY her uncle’s murderer hasn’t been caught. She’s asking Kim Han-Saem. Her constant visits make him even more suspicious. He believes she did it, and the only reason she keeps stopping by is to check and see how much the police have uncovered. In other words, how close are they to catching her?

What is even more suspicious? Yoon E-Na chose to become a criminal profiler. That means she can serve as a consultant on various cases, and that could give her access to her uncle’s unsolved murder case. Kim Han-Saem finds her choice of profession very convenient, just like her memory loss. She doesn’t even have to work. Her parents owned a hospital, and she is well off financially. It seems more like she got a job that allows her to snoop without making it look like she’s just trying to cover up the crime she committed 10 years ago. That’s what Kim Han-Saem thinks, and Yoon E-Na has never done anything to make him less suspicious or at least believe that he just might be wrong about her.

Yoon E-Na is exceptionally intelligent and financially well-off. People find her behavior weird and try to avoid her. She likes bungee jumping because it feels like she’s close to death, without dying. That’s exhilarating! Yoon E-Na has been seeing a psychiatrist for years, hoping to bring back her memory, but also for other psychological problems. Did she kill her uncle, but just doesn’t remember? Has she possibly committed other murders?

One day, as soon as she reached home from work, there was a special delivery package for her. It was a puzzle piece. It connected to the piece that she stepped on 10 years earlier, when she found her dead uncle. WHAT ON EARTH?! That wasn’t all. She wanted to contact Kim Han-Saem but could not reach him. When she went to get back in her car, she forgot where she had parked her car.

Instead of finding her car, she saw another parked car with the lights on. Yoon E-Na walked up to the car and looked in the window on the driver’s side. There was a murdered woman in the driver’s seat. Of course, she called the police to report it. Of course, Kim Han-Saem was assigned to investigate and immediately suspected her. The police chief ordered that Yoon E-Na be assigned to work on the investigation, too! WHAT ON EARTH?!

Main Characters:

• Yoon E-Na (played by Kim Da-Mi, “The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion”, “The Witch: Part 2. The Other One”, “Itaewon Class”)
• Kim Han-Saem (played by Son Suk-Ku, “Troll Factory”, “A Killer Paradox”, “Big Bet 1 and 2”, “D.P. 1 and 2” “My Liberation Notes”, “Hit-and-Run Squad”, “Designated Survivor: 60 Days”)

Where to watch Nine Puzzles and what to expect from the new K-drama thriller

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 8.3 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8.1 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is the same as MDL.

{One (1) star for the soundtrack.}

“Nine Puzzles” just got added to Hulu (May 2025), and being a fan of police procedurals and murder mysteries, I immediately dove in. In Episode 1, when the main female lead stepped on a puzzle piece … it sucked me right in!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

‘Nine Puzzles’ Hulu Review: Stream It Or Skip It? | Decider.com

All About the Mind-Bending Thriller “Nine Puzzles”: The New Korean Drama You Can’t-Miss – KPOPPOST

Disney+ Nine Puzzles: Decoded Pop-Up At Plaza Singapura | The Smart Local

Son Suk-Ku And Kim Da-Mi Gather Clues In K-Drama ‘Nine Puzzles’ | Forbes

Kim Da-mi and Son Seok-koo’s ‘Nine Puzzles’ tops Disney+ rankings in South Korea | CHOSUNBIZ

TRAILER/TEASER:

Singapore, Disney+. “Nine Puzzles.” YouTube, 6 May 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1PsI6zEBU8.

♦