The Merfolk Murders

I liked this story but I will have to say it was a bit too long for me but it didn’t effect my enjoyment as other stories do like how the tardis team split up scooby doo style too

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

Previous Story: Black Orchid

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 Darkening Eye

Tim Foley has become a regular writer on this range, previously penning The Auton Infinity and last year's Pursuit of the Nightjar expectations are set high, this time stepping away from sci-fi and placing the Doctor and his friends into a more traditional murder mystery with The Merfolk Murders.

The team find themselves at the University of St Andrews in 1940 and meet the Merfolk, a society that spends the summer reading murder mystery stories, who soon have a real murder to discuss. The society's leader Athena, maths student Henry, the allied soldier Private Kowalski, Professor Hodgson and Sebastian - the student who knows of the Doctor - are they key players.

Subverting the usual Doctor Who tropes, the central protagonists aren't so much as suspected, instead being free to make their own investigations, each spending a good amount of time with the others while getting the chance to go off alone and get to know members of the side cast, a blossoming romance between Adric and Henry being a personal highlight, as well as Nyssa being able to connect with Kowalski over having lost their homes.

The mystery itself is well-crafted, there did come a point where it seemed the solution may be obvious but the story has enough twists, turns and red herrings to keep you guessing. The identity of the culprit certainly surprised me and it all comes together in an overall satisfying way. While not a lot of substance is drawn from it, a parallel being drawn to people who get a too obsessed with modern true crime media also goes appreciated.

The performances are great throughout, the "gotcha" scene is so well performed and Foley gives Janet Fielding another moment to shine as Tegan has to make a difficult phone call. As always, Fielding's interplay with Davison entertains.

As with last year's box sets it's a shame there's no music suite on this release, as Howard Carter's score for this story is my favourite he's done for the range so far, music during a major reveal in the climax and a scene with Adric and Tegan on the beach are particular highlights I'd love to have listened to in isolation. I hope that future Fifth Doctor Adventures releases do feature music suites, even if it's too late for this one.

The Merfolk Murders is another big winner for The Fifth Doctor Adventures, adding to Tim Foley's impressive streak. There's no telling if or when Foley will write another story for the range, though this story does tease other adventures for the this Doctor's immediate predecessor and successor.