A Foot in the Grave
by Joan Aiken (Jonathan Cape, 1989); audiobook read by Melissa Exelberth (Bolinda, 2015)
These supernatural stories breeze along, effortlessly conjuring character and mood; yet their conclusions invariably fail to shock, spook or satisfy. The let-downs are palpable! Aiken is like a pole-vaulter who runs in beautifully, soars to great heights but always clips the bar.
Inspector Morse: The Riddle of the Third Mile
by Colin Dexter (Macmillan, 1983); audiobook read by Samuel West (Macmillan, 2017)
The writing has an air of literature to it and some wonderfully poetic flourishes. Morse himself is a great character. Yet the mystery itself—key elements of which are artfully, rather capriciously concealed by omissions in Dexter’s omniscient narrative—doesn’t bear scrutiny.
The League of Gentlemen
dir. Basil Dearden (AFM, 1960)
This classic British heist film wipes the floor with its American counterpart (Ocean’s 11). The ensemble cast is faultless, each actor lending real personality to his character. Composer Philip Green brings tension. The plot is straightforward; slow-moving at first yet nonetheless compelling.
Tintin: Explorers on the Moon
by Hergé (Methuen, 1959)
An extraordinary achievement, constituting both a prescient (ie. well-researched and well-reasoned) foretelling of a genuine moon landing, and a tour de force of Tintin staples: Boy’s Own action and comic misadventure. Unlike other volumes, this one is genuinely tense. Nail-biting yet funny!
The Ruby in the Smoke
by Philip Pullman (Oxford University Press, 1985); audiobook read by Anton Lesser (Bolinda, 2015)
Pullman captures the essence of Victorian London (without belabouring the setting), and his characters all stand out, especially in Lesser’s audiobook reading. The story, however, gains little from these virtues, its omniscient third-person narrative frittering away most of the tension and mystery.
P.R.O.B.E. – The Zero Imperative
by Mark Gatiss (BBV, 1994)
A creepy Doctor Who spin-off that sees Liz Shaw investigating supernatural deaths at a psychiatric hospital. Liz, however, doesn’t actually feature that much, and it’s a little difficult to reconcile the other Who actors (four ex-Doctors, no less!) with their new roles.
Saturday Live, Volume One
by Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie (Redbush, 2015)
A patchy collection of highlights (so-called) from the 1986 TV variety show. Fry and Laurie are first-billed but don’t actually feature that much. Instead, there’s Ben Elton’s high-octane social and political stand-up, protest poems by Craig Charles, and several remarkably unfunny also-rans.
A Study in Scarlet
by Arthur Conan Doyle (Ward Lock & Co, 1887); audiobook read by Stephen Fry (ABC/Audible, 2017)
This would have made a fine short story—introducing the great detective to his chronicler—yet the lengthy second part serves only to demonstrate Conan Doyle’s dependence on Holmes and Watson. In the absence of these seminal characters, the prose turns flaccid.
Tintin: Destination Moon
by Hergé (Casterman, 1959)
Hergé’s phenomenal commitment to accuracy is nowhere greater attested than in ‘Destination Moon’ and its sequel. Thankfully, the laborious detail is offset by liberal doses of physical comedy courtesy of Captain Haddock, the Thom(p)sons, and—most gloriously—Professor Calculus acting the goat!
The Witches
by Roald Dahl (Jonathan Cape, 1983); audiobook read by Miranda Richardson (Penguin, 2013)
Scary and horrid and yet rather wondrous and fun, Roald Dahl’s take on witches remains a classic of middle grade fiction. Miranda Richardson’s audiobook reading is nicely pitched (notwithstanding her overly grating Grand High Witch and some oddly lacklustre, unnecessary sound effects).