Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Mystery

The legendary demise of Phil Archer's first wife is recalled in these archive editions of the much-loved BBC radio serial, plus a unique behind-the-scenes drama about Grace's death. The Archers is the longest-running radio drama in the world, and in 1955 the death of Grace Archer became one of the most notorious - and controversial - events in the history of the show.

It’s San Francisco, 1928, and Sam Spade is a wisecracking, womanising Private Investigator. Missing husbands and unfaithful wives are his usual stock-in-trade, but when the beautifully distressed Miss Wonderley calls he gets involved in a dangerous caper most people would run a mile from...

Thirteen classic crime dramas featuring Dr Morelle - 'the man you love to hate'! Psychiatrist-detective Dr Morelle is arrogant, sarcastic and rude - but when it comes to catching criminals, he is unparalleled. Using deduction, psychological profiling and his keen, analytical mind, he solves cases ranging from blackmail to murder, aided by his devoted and long-suffering secretary Miss Frayle.

Glasgow’s finest are on the case in these thrilling radio adaptations, based on the books by Peter Turnbull. In the four-part serial Condition Purple, a murdered prostitute is found in the heart of Glasgow's prosperous business quarter. Could a tattoo on her body hold the key to finding her killer? In Two Way Cut, another four-parter, a headless body without a speck of blood on it has the cops puzzled - and who was the strange figure that PC Hamilton saw running along by the canal?

Berkely Mather (real name John Evan Weston-Davies) was a British author who wrote sixteen novels ranging from historical adventures to espionage fiction. Included here are some of his best radio thrillers, beginning with The Sand Leopard, charting the exploits of Geth Straker, captain of the Peregrine. The trouble-hunting mariner is commissioned to sail to the Red Sea in search of sunken Second World War bullion – but are his two new crew members what they seem?

With the House of Commons in recess, it's a chance for all hard-working politicians to take a holiday. So when Conservative MP Vincent Mellors and Labour MP Arnold Sellers discover that they're staying at the same golf hotel in Lytham St Annes, they agree to put affairs of state on the back burner. But they're soon handed a political hot potato in the shape of Sir Bertram Oliphant's parliamentary memoirs. Full of red-hot revelations, the manuscript is diplomatic dynamite - and someone will go to any lengths to get their hands on it.

Counterfeiters, spies, murderers...and Isaac Newton must use his brilliant mind to defeat them all in this pair of full-cast historical crime dramas. In Master of the Mint, a new figure of justice is walking the streets of 17th-century London—Isaac Newton, scientific genius. After thirty years as a Cambridge academic, Newton takes up a new post at the Royal Mint in the Tower of London. In Nemesis, Isaac Newton must contend not only with opponents to his currency plans, but also with a French secret agent who is aiding the theft of England's entire supply of silver.

Lester Powell's Chandleresque detective Philip Odell was a huge hit on the BBC Light Programme between 1947 and 1961, thrilling audiences with his crime-solving adventures in post-war London. This gripping collection brings together the only two surviving radio serials featuring the tough-guy investigator—one of which, Test Room Eight, is published here for the very first time.

A six-part BBC Radio 4 crime drama set in 19th-century London. It is 1830, a year after Sir Robert Peel’s creation of the Metropolitan Police, known as the 'Peelers'. As the brand-new bobbies patrol the beat in their smart blue uniforms, armed only with truncheons and rattles, they form the first line of defence against crime. But as this thrilling series opens, the fledgling detective force is proving unpopular, sparking deep political unrest and public protests. Rioters take to the streets of London, and the police struggle to contain the violence.

1920s Stirling, and Chief Pathologist Dr Wallace is the town's acknowledged expert on all matters forensic. But he's not the only detective in the family - his daughter Barbara, a medical student, also has quite a talent for investigating. In these six one-off dramas, the two amateur sleuths join forces to tackle a string of tricky cases, each involving a suspicious death.

Paul Temple star Francis Matthews gives his best Cary Grant impression as suave PI Dick George in these three comedy adventures, with Margaret Robertson channelling Katherine Hepburn as his glamorous ex-wife, Dora; 'Man in Black' Edward de Souza as his valet, Blore; and Ronald Herdman as Pasta the dog.

Alice and Belinda are identical twins, and have grown up sharing everything: toys, rooms, and friends. But as they begin their careers as detectives - a job they have each wanted for as long as they can remember - a computer error sees them accidentally starting at the same North London police station. Work gives them enough mysteries to be investigating as they attempt to make themselves known and respected in their new roles, but when Belinda is sexually harassed by a colleague, her twin Alice realizes she can use her identical appearance to fight back when her sister no longer can...

A thrilling saga of criminal masterminds, espionage and adventure, Edward J. Mason's Dick Barton: Special Agent was a huge hit on the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951. Together with his mates Jock Anderson and Snowy White, ex-Commando Dick faced dastardly villains and deadly peril—but always triumphed ('With one bound, Dick was free!') Half a century later, Edward J's son Lol paid affectionate tribute to the much-loved radio hero with this sparkling pastiche, featuring the joint escapades of father-and-son duo Dick and Richard Barton.

Acclaimed radio and TV dramatist Roy Clarke is well known for his hit sitcoms Last of the Summer Wine, Open All Hours and Keeping Up Appearances. But before he came to fame, he penned two hugely entertaining six-part thriller serials—both directed by a struggling radio producer who would become one of the most renowned playwrights in the world: Alan Ayckbourn.

1839, and Bow Street Runner Pip Shepherd is out of a job. The Runners have been disbanded, merged with Sir Robert Peel's new Metropolitan Police - and there's no way Pip's signing up with them. But when he befriends 'Peeler' Thomas Tedman, and hears about an upcoming detective division, he has second thoughts, and soon the duo are investigating their first cases together.

Inspired by Peter Moffat's popular BBC One show, Silk, this compelling courtroom drama returns to Shoe Lane Chambers, but from a different perspective. Rather than focussing on the lawyers, it centres on the people who can make or break their careers—their clerks.

Inspector Alia Khan is a tough, determined female cop struggling to make her mark in a male-dominated world. As she fights to uncover crime and corruption, she must also battle the endemic sexism of the police force and the patronising, chauvinist attitudes of her boss and colleagues - as well as dealing with her own personal demons.

**Ian McKellen was the WINNER of the BBC Audio Drama Award 2015 for Best Actor in an Audio Drama (for Eugenie Grandet)** Sir Ian McKellen reads The Valley of Fear, the last of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's four Sherlock Holmes novels. The mystery begins with a coded warning of imminent danger...

Grahame Mayer specialises in selling books, not solving mysteries. So when he’s asked to play private investigator and track down a soldier from the Spanish Civil War, he wonders if it’s some sort of test – and if so, what will happen if he fails.... Armed with fresh information, he is sent to Glasgow on the trail of Jock Cameron, and a meeting with a former nurse who knew him back in Spain furnishes Grahame with further clues. But despite these new leads, the elusive Jock remains tantalisingly out of reach.

In these two compelling murder mysteries, MI6 officers Henry Colvil and Alex Soames become involved in a pair of complex cases which take them to the very top of the political and religious spheres. Written by acclaimed historian, broadcaster and author Christopher Lee, these gripping spy thrillers star Christopher Benjamin (Pride and Prejudice, Doctor Who) as Henry Colvil and Amanda Redman (The Good Karma Hospital, New Tricks) as Alex Soames.