A short series of short episodes, adapted from Sophie Hannah's collection of shorts, this little collection of five fifteen minute stories run a bit of a gamut through various crimes, personality disorders and overbearing mothers. (Seriously, I do worry about poor Hannah's mum.)
We've got a suspicious house sale, a trip on the Tube with a worrying stranger, a bit of framing, a trip on the Orient Express and another house sale. I suspect Hannah may have recently had a bit of a issue trying to sell a house.
These suffer a little from running as short as they do, with the fifteen minute section only really giving you about thirteen minutes of story time. On more than one occasion, it feels like the last two minutes are "here, let me explain the plot to you, just in case you missed it". Tempted to go back and have a listen to The Man In Black, which got half an hour and could do rather more.
The stories are a little variable, with some quite compelling while others very obvious. They've all got a twist of sorts, but this can feel rushed again because of the shortness.
It's not a significant input of time, so give it a try. I sneaked out by the middle of Episode 5, which I felt was a weak one, and perhaps should have come earlier, but up to that point I was pretty interested.
Tagged: Radio Drama Monologue Fiction Crime and punishment