Lighting the Pipes

In John Gardner's sixth continuation novel, M has "cream cake" on his face and Bond is brought in to clean up the mess. Ghosts from a former operation have returned to haunt the MI6 chief as his agents are being mutilated and wiped out. Without the help of official channels, 007 must rely on his rolodex of allies to safeguard the targets and track down the hit team before it's too late. So, tune those harmonica bugs and call your gangster friends: from London to Ireland, Paris to Hong Kong, the stakes are high and set-pieces abound in this "help wanted" adventure!

When Dr Huxtable (no, not that one) makes a desperate appeal to Sherlock for help in locating a missing pupil of his stuffy boarding school, Holmes politely declines. When he learns of the £6000 reward, however, and of the blue bloods behind the intrigue, the great detective does an about turn and catches the next train north! A case of murderous intrigue, ransom and bike-tire forensics quickly thickens around our hero. Scott's choice for "Sherlock Selects" comes from a December 2017 chat and closes out the retrospective Summer series for another year.

A young doctor and nervous sponsor... a criminal history and horrific murder... it must be time for "The Resident Patient"! Following the case of Dr Percy Trevelyan, Josh's choice kick-starts our annual "Sherlock Selects" Summer Series with heavy themes of suspicion and retribution. We've brushed the dust off our garage tapes of 2017 to bring you this conversation from LTP Season 1.

Can't get enough Maigret? Same here! So, when our buddy Nick from The Book Graveyard invited us over to his YouTube channel for a chat about 1931's The Yellow Dog we jumped at the chance.

This time, Inspector Maigret is in Brittany but it's not just the medieval old town that's walled in Concarneau - the people have also built up ramparts around their secrets. In order to discover the truth behind a spate of violent crimes and a mysterious canine, Maigret must first break down the fortifications of bourgeois betrayal and public paranoia.

Check out the video of our conversation (https://youtu.be/2eI0ebZ9WJM) as well as everything else Nick & The Book Graveyard have to offer fans of genre fiction and vintage reads (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBookGraveyard)!

We are ready for our close-up, Mr DeMille!

Just in time for its 75th Anniversary, LTP Noir delivers a supersized episode on the ultimate dark Hollywood satire that is "Sunset Boulevard". This knowing and tragic noir classic was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, excelling on multiple fronts. From the pairing of Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett to the casting of Gloria Swanson and Franz Waxman's inspired score, Josh unravels the skills and secrets behind this roller coaster production and its enduring legacy.

Plot Summary@2:20; Production@24:00; Review@1:07:00; Scoring Feature@1:19:00

"The Saint Goes On" is the fourteenth book of adventures by Leslie Charteris to feature Simon Templar and his unique skillset of wit, charm and reckless abandon. In the first, "The High Fence", Templar tracks down a master criminal through a package of stolen jewels, playing dress-up and dodging death along the way. Next, "The Elusive Ellshaw" sees The Saint narrowly escapes death as he helps Inspector Teal uncover the truth behind a missing husband and an assassniation plot. Finally, "The Frightened Innkeeper" finds Templar in Devon, investigating suspicious figures and things that go bump in the night. In this follow-up to our November 2024 episode on "Enter the Saint", three further novellas go under review!

Our inspection of John Gardner's continuation novels rolls on with his fifth 007 adventure. Here, James Bond is forced to jettison his annual leave in Europe when he's made aware of a SPECTRE contract on his head. Some of the bounty hunters hope to lure Bond in by kidnapping May and Moneypenny, two heart-shaped targets for the noble agent. Gardner diverts from his own formulaic structure in this one but still delivers the action and unpredictability we've come to expect from his early adventures. Vampires and guillotines at the ready!

Part satire, part crime adventure and part screwball comedy, Donald E Westlake's heist caper follows an eclectic team of European baddies vowing to aid (then betray) a beautiful freedom fighter in a plot to restore (and then steal) her nation's purloined treasures. "Castle in the Air" is driven thematically by an insatiable appetite for greed and a zest for poking fun at itself. The plot works up to a raucous rip-off operation across the roads and waterways of Paris, led by master criminal Eustace Dench and his ensemble cast. We had a good time reviewing the pulpy energy of this one, complete with its hijinks, social commentary and a language barrier that just won't quit.

Fast Facts@10:40; Summary@34:00; PIPES@53:00

In this special episode (a listener-favourite from our BBN days), Josh newly presents his research on Sir Francis Walsingham. Dubbed "Spymaster to the Queen", popular history broadcasts Walsingham as a cut-throat playmaker and confidant in and around the court of Elizabeth I; this is a piece of the truth, sure, but there is so much more to the man than just a nifty label. Equally powerful in daylight as in the shadows, Walsingham weaponised political rhetoric and manipulated a staggering network of intelligence in the Tudor era. Long before Philby and Fleming, Maugham or Croft, there was Sir Francis Walsingham.

When Dr Huxtable (no, not that one) makes a desperate appeal to Sherlock for help in locating a missing pupil of his school, the great detective politely declines. When he learns of the £6000 reward, however, and the blue blood behind the case, Holmes does an about turn and hops on the next train north! A tale of murderous intrigue, ransom and bike tire forensics then ensues. Scott's choice for "Sherlock Selects" comes from December 2017 and closes out the retrospective Summer Series for another year.