Lighting the Pipes

In this special episode, Nick Anderson from The Book Graveyard lends his enthusiasm and rides sidecar through our exploration of "Maigret and the Ghost". When one of the Inspector's colleagues from the 18th arrondissement is gunned down in the peaceable Avenue Junot, Maigret has to pick up the loose ends of a secretive and time-sensitive investigation. From spooks in the window and open-marriage a...

Dr Richard Talbot: "I'm writing a paper on ailments of the heart." Nora Prentiss: "A paper? I could write a book!" LTP Noir is back with "oomph" and a deep-dive into 1947's Nora Prentiss, directed by Vincent Sherman, a love affair that literally goes up in flames. Not only does Josh give his final word on this compelling "Women's Noir" but shines deserving light on the career of Ann Sheridan, an o...

What would happen if a bunch of thugs were chasing down an old-man's horse-betting system? And what if only a sharpshooting physics teacher and his jockey-dreaming younger brother stood in the way of them and their shady profiteering! Well, it's all to play for here in 1981's "Twice Shy" by Dick Francis. If you're into equine thrillers with hurdles of domestic conflict and 80s computer jargon then...

Billy Summers, ex-marine, is an assassin with a moral compass and a mind scarred by trauma. In Stephen King's 2021 thriller, he takes on some "very bad men" in what he intends to be his final job. King's narrative focuses on the preparations and execution of the hit, while reminding us that you can never plan for the unexpected. "Dumb Billy" may conceals his sharper self behind Archie comics and o...

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 t...

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 th...

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...

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 ins...

"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 Insp...

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 o...

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...

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 dayli...

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 "S...

"I'd hate to take a bite of you... you're a cookie full of arsenic." Alexander McKendrick's compelling noir is full of lines like this, courtesy of screenwriter Clifford Odets - quite fitting for intrigue set in the back-stabby world of showbiz journalism. Burt Lancaster may appear more dinky here than normal but don't be fooled by his glasses: JJ Hunsecker is a powerful and fiendish columnist who...

According to Ogden Nash, "Philo Vance needs a kick in the pants", and Dashiel Hammett described the character's posturing as being, "like a teenager who had been studying the foreign words and phrases in the back of their dictionary". S.S. Van Dine's foppish sleuth certainly does make an impression on a reader and here, in his first appearance, we get to follow his methodology and manipulation alo...

Another year, another 007 continuation novel for John Gardner! In 1984 it was "Role of Honour", his fourth effort, which pits a rich but disenchanted James Bond up against a SPECTRE in sheep's clothing. From computer programming to terrorist training, Endor battles and blimp jumping, Gardner leaves little on the cutting room floor with this one, taking readers to crazytown and back in this raucous...

Our first foray into the work of Georges Simenon sees us tackle one of the Belgian writer's most celebrated books. When a barge travelling through the Parisian neighbourhood of Quai de Valmy dredges up body parts in the canal Saint Martin, Detective Jules Maigret is called in to investigate. His efforts lead him to a quiet bistro operated by Aline Calas, a figure whose enigmatic presence compels t...

Fresh on the heels of last week's novel review, we're proud to present our conversation about Clint Eastwood's film adaptation of Trevanian's "The Eiger Sanction" from 1975. Recorded a few years back with our good buddy Jeff Chapman from Bond By Numbers, no Eiger stone was left unturned in this deep-dive investigation, re-polished for your listening pleasure.

1972's "The Eiger Sanction" was affectionately referred to as a light spoof of the spy genre by its author, Trevanian. In some ways that claim is bankable but, in others, the descriptor really doesn't stick. Simple in structure but complex in its narrative features, this thriller is both compelling and conflicted. So grab your pitons and fasten your ropes, it's time for a literary ascent of this n...

LTP Noir is back and this time it's Paramount's 1942 spy thriller, "This Gun For Hire", that's brought in for questioning! From the struggles of adapting Graham Greene's source material and lofty ambitions of director Frank Tuttle to the creative genius of costume designer Edith Head and the tribulations of stars Veronica lake and Alan Ladd in their first screen pairing, Josh gives the lowdown on...

Made rich through universal themes of duality, friendship and unchecked ambition, Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novella was a crime thriller sensation upon publication and gathered further acclaim alongside the notorious Whitechapel Murders of 1888. Combining features of epistolary, gothic horror, science fiction and mystery, "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" packs serious punch and h...

Throughout the first World War, acclaimed novelist W. Somerset Maugham worked for British Intelligence in Switzerland. Under cover as a writer, Maugham used his knowledge of travel, languages and culture to great effect, infiltrating high society and common folk alike in his job of greasing the wheels of espionage. A decade later, Maugham fictionalized his experiences in this book, a pseudo-autobi...

Happy New Year! Our survey of John Gardner's continuation novels carries on with a chat over his third effort. If, like many, you buy into the belief that a Bond's third outing is his best ("Goldfinger", "The Spy Who Loved Me", "Skyfall".... Fleming, too, wrote "Moonraker" third) then Gardner should be stretching comfortably by now. "Icebreaker" sees 007 unite with an inter-agency operation in Fin...

Our final episode of 2024 looks back on an entertaining year of reading for the show. We also present our rankings for each text covered and share in the challenge of our first holiday Sherlock quiz!