BBC Radio Crimes: A Charles Paris Mystery: The Dead Side of the Mic

There's an excellent cast in this audio drama, which helps whisk you along the nearly two hours of drama in and out of BBC Broadcasting House. The plot loses quite a bit from the novel, as often happens with radio dramatisations but Bill Nighy is really perfectly cast as Simon Brett's morose amateur sleuth - and there's a wonderful cameo by Charlotte Green which will bring a smile to the most intense Radio 4 listener!

Although based on a novel written in 1980, this Charles Paris outing has production values, a soundtrack and pace that ensure you're whisked through the two hours of old-fashioned sleuthing with a wonderful modern twist.

I love these audiobooks that are like the old-time radio shows with different readers for each role. It's much more absorbing than a single reader. The Charles Paris character seems a little dated, but the story moved along quickly and the dialog was witty. I wish there was a greater variety of BBC Radio Crimes.

I'm greatly enjoying the Charles Paris BBC dramas - the music alone is a blast from the past; the actors are pitch-perfect; and the stories a lot of fun. I know Charles would not be much fun to know or live with, in reality, but he is such a wonderful scoundrel to hear from as he continues to live in a state of scotch-fueled non-divorce with his long-suffering wife Frances. The scene where he's a stand-in in his daughter's prenatal class is particularly memorable; as is the anniversary scene in "A Reconstructed Corpse." If you like radio drama with a sense of humor, these are for you.