Fifteen years after the publication of "The Talented Mr Ripley", Patricia Highsmith returns her ambitious con-man to readers in "Ripley Underground", the first of four follow-up mysteries. Tom is married and living outside of Paris now, six years following the events of the first novel, and enjoying the quiet life of a wealthy man. His criminality has mellowed since escaping to Greece in the wake of the Dickie Greenleaf affair, characterised by some art forgery and a minor role in a fencing scheme. However, problems ensue for Tom when an American collector hollers "fake!" and starts an investigation. Lies need covered and bodies need buried as Tom is thrown back into the disguise game.

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Check out our earlier episode on "The Talented Mr Ripley" (04/03/2022) for full author bio and publication history.

Ian Fleming's 007 novels changed the terrain of popular spy fiction for ever and gave birth to an empire of legacy for actors, artists, creatives and enthusiasts the world over. In 2015 we set up a recorder, arranged some Skype calls and trialled this podcast gig a little for posterity. By leaning into conversations around Fleming's work, our appreciation for something like LTP emerged.

Our initial Bond project took us a calendar year and change and it's taken us ten more just to get these older episodes cut, reconditioned and up to snuff. We think we've made the mark but you can be the judge! Starting here, with 1953's pulp thriller "Casino Royale", we are proud to present our original Fleming discussions, never before released, into the LTP 007 pipeline.

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In July of 1943, as Allied forces planned desperately for Mediterranean access into Europe, Britain's Naval Intelligence were spearheading an intrepid operation, a bait-and-switch of colossal consequence. Commander Ian Fleming, serving as personal assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, helped to encourage the intricate planning for what would soon become Operation Mincemeat.

This episode is a special Summer treat, recut and newly presented from a July 2022 episode on Bond by Numbers. Jeff Chapman, our resident military expert, cracks cover and leads us through a tour of this remarkable operation and features of Ben McIntyre's 2010 book. We also offer our thoughts on the 2021 film adaption, directed by John Madden.

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Faster than your Keurig, LTP is back and brewing up another rich blend of Film Noir analysis with the big reveal on Fritz Lang's 1953 classic, "The Big Heat", starring Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame. Beginning with its origins as a popular serial by crime fiction author, William P McGivern, and the real-life case that inspired the film, Josh goes deep cover into the life of the enigmatic Lang himself, his influence on the genre and on the film's production. What's with all the coffee talk? Check out the episode and see for yourself!

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In Anthony Price's debut novel, a WW2-era C-47 Dakota resurfaces twenty-five years after being officially "lost at sea". Its captain was transporting something hot from the dying embers of Nazi Germany and its plunders. The trail went cold when the plane got wet in 1945. But now that it's back, the intelligence networks of East and West resurrect their chase. "The Labyrinth Makers" is the first David Audley spy mystery and sees the Ministry of Defence analyst working to stay one step ahead of a Russain threat. Part art history, part-treasure hunt and part cold-war pursuit, Price's novel is the subject of our latest episode.

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Collected in "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes", this narrative is unique in the canon for a few reasons: first, it is the longest short story written by Conan Doyle for publication; secondly, it is one of only a handful of cases that is brought to Holmes by Watson; third, it happened to be one of Conan Doyle's personal favourites; and, finally, it's Josh's choice for this year's Summer series! "The Naval Treaty" follows the unfortunate mishap of Percy Phelps and the intrigue of a stolen document from the Foreign Office in London. This story serves as a warning to any public official who steps away from their work to chase up coffee. Our review here was originally produced in September, 2017.

"The worst man in London... the king of all blackmailers."

These are the blunt, declarative answers Holmes provides to his Watson when asked about this story's titular antagonist. Some immodest letters have been intercepted that would mark the ruin of Lady Eva Blackwell and her upcoming nuptials. The fee for their return is a punishing £7000 (over a million dollars today). She's employed Sherlock to help her out and he's not afraid to go the distance for his client...

Our Summer Sherlock Selects has returned! First up, Scott's choice of "Charles Augustus Milverton" from the Return of Sherlock Holmes. Originally recorded in January of 2018, this early chat has been reproduced and explores one of the canon's best worst villains.

As if the clammy heat of New Orleans wasn't enough for a nun in full habit, an arson spree is threatening the community of St Sebastian's School in Margot Douaihy's "Scorched Grace". This is the first of the author's Sister Holiday mysteries and introduces readers to the Order of the Sublime Blood and a crime spree that dredges up old trauma with impressive force. Steered by her uniquely queer, conflicted, punk-rock moral compass, Sister Holiday soon adds another vow to her list of holy solemnities - solving this mystery before more lives are taken!

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The year is 1878. Detectives in fiction had cut shapes before (Poe, Collins and Gaboriau had all experimented) but few woman, if any, had ever been credited for work in the genre, let alone acclaimed. Along comes Anna Katherine Green, metaphorically brandishing "fingers up" to the establishment and bestowing upon the literary world this classic narrative. "The Leavenworth Case" is a story of two secretive cousins, a complex murder investigation and the lovestruck young lawyer driven to prove their innocence. It was a landmark publication when it appeared, impressively advancing the chains of the genre and introducing the world to Detective Ebeneezer Gryce in his first of 13 appearances. Thanks to Green, the modern mystery was about to get a transformative kick in the posterior!

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In this episode, we head back to the world of graphic novels and explore the suburban mystery of "Where the Body Was" by celebrated comics duo, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. What starts innocently enough, with some feral Gen-X childhood crime-fighting, soon curdles into something darker: hidden affairs, small-time crooks, unrequited love and a dead body that nobody can quite explain. The mythology of the safe and honest American neighbourhood is left in tatters here by Brubaker and LTP has all the angles covered from its treehouse vantage on the cul-de-sac of Pelican lane!

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