This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Dark Contract

It's fitting chronologically that after Doctor Who on TV took a turn at the murder-mystery genre, Doctor Who on audio should try it too. This is such a compellingly crafted mystery, it's ridiculously clever and heartwarming and heartbreaking and just brilliant in general.

The TARDIS team's potential is not at all wasted in this story, every member gets their own development. Nyssa bonds with a soldier, Private Kowalski over having lost their homes. Adric considers settling down for the first time and while it's not completely explicit, falls in love. This leads to a whole bunch of heartbreak later on but I don't want to spoil too much. Tegan really gets to show off her almost motherly side, especially towards the aforementioned Adric. The Doctor dons an old pseudonym he used as a detective when he was in his last body.

This pseudonym, Orion Hood, is a really interesting insight into the Doctor (and I wouldn't be surprised if we see a few Fourth Doctor Boxsets featuring this premise). Peter Davison in general is absolutely brilliant in this, I will never understand people who say he's a boring Doctor. He had a great speech at the end, much like every other iconic detective where he strings together all the breadcrumbs and reveals the villain in a climactic moment.

On the topic of those clues, this is not a murder-mystery that cheaps out and doesn't reveal everything. All the details are there and it makes for a fantastic "how did I not realise that" moment at the end.

What a story, genuinely.

Next Story: The Great Beyond