Lighting The Pipes

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@53:00Get your Magic Mind here!

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. Get your Magic Mind here!

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.

"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 employs an ambitious press agent, Sidney Faclo, played by Tony Curtis to break up his sister's romance. Conflict and betrayals emerge from the darkness here, masterfully rendered through sharp angles and lighting contrasts by Oscar-winning DP, James Wong Howe. Decorated with subtle touches and engaging performances, "Sweet Smell of Success" was a critic's favourite when released in 1957 and Josh lays the whole story out in this episode of LTP Noir.Pre-Production @ 01:55; Summary @ 23:00; Production @36:00; Review @47:00 Get your Magic Mind here!

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 alongside DA John Markham and "The Benson Murder Case". Opinions weren't hard to come by during our read and review of this crime classic!Fast Facts @15:00; Summary @41:00; PIPES @55:00Get your Magic Mind here

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 spy thriller.

Get Your Magic Mind Offer!

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.

Get Your Magic Mind Offer

Get Your Magic Mind Offer

Get Your Magic Mind Offer

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-autobiographical account of his time on the continent. Brimming with intrigue and colourful supporting characters, the linked stories of "Ashenden" are skillfully controlled narrative glimpses of war-time spycraft by a figure who's been there and done it. Fast Facts @ 2:00; Summaries @ 28:00; PIPES @ 1:35:00

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 Finland to thwart a fascist terrorist group. Join us as we explore Gardner's world of snowmobiles, double agents and smoked salmon fireside chats.

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!

It's Christmas at Gorston Hall and the Lee family is preparing to welcome family home for the holidays at the behest of grizzled, mischievous patriarch, Simeon. But when the guests arrive, bringing all their baggage in tow, a brutal murder amplifies family conflict to a breaking point. In this year's holiday read, LTP mulls wine and conversation over Hercule Poirot and one of Agatha Christie's most celebrated locked room mysteries.

Despite first appearing on the scene in 1928's "Meet the Tiger", author Leslie Charteris promoted this volume from 1930 as the proper introduction of Simon Templar, aka "The Saint". Across three novellas ("The Man Who Was Clever", "The Policeman with Wings" and "The Lawless Lady") his dandified crime-buster makes his literary debut here, taking on London gangsters, outsmarting dwarfish diamond thieves and navigating round a ring of high-seas scam artists. So polish your halos and brogues, its time for close and classy combat with Simon Templar!Fast facts (5:45), "The Man Who Was Clever" (26:30), "The Policeman With Wings" (1:08), "The Lawless Lady" (1:44:20).