Author:John Creasey,Full Cast,Patrick Allen,Sarah Lawson
Three vintage crime serials, adapted from John Creasey's hugely popular thrillers
Roger West is a home-loving, hard-hitting and very human policeman. Nicknamed 'Handsome' West, he's more than just a pretty face - he's also Scotland Yard's youngest, smartest detective and a crime-solving supremo. Six of his adventures were dramatised for radio between 1967 and 1971, but only three survived, all of which are included in this box set.
Battle for Inspector West - Idle curiosity takes the Chief Inspector to a high-society wedding - and leads him into a case involving a notorious blackmailer and a missing bride. Drawn into a web of terror, West comes face-to-face with an old adversary - a dangerous criminal mastermind named Carosian...
Inspector West at Home - When Roger West finds the dead body of a small-time crook, he faces opposition from the formidable Superintendent Abbott, his superior at the Yard. Suspended from duty, he sets out on a trail of conspiracy, corruption and murder...
Inspector West at Bay - First West is targeted by a vicious attacker, then his wife Janet receives an anonymous, threatening message. Caught up in a deadly game of blind man's buff, can he save himself and his family from an enemy who seems determined to destroy them?
Starring real-life husband and wife Patrick Allen and Sarah Lawson as Roger and Janet West, these three full-cast dramas are full of excitement and suspense. Also featured is a 30-minute episode from The Radio Detectives, 'Stand by for West', in which Professor Jeffrey Richards investigates the 'master craftsman of mystery' John Creasey and his greatest creation, Inspector West.
Written by John Creasey
Adapted by Maurice Travers
Starring Patrick Allen as Chief Inspector Roger West and Sarah Lawson as Janet West
Battle for Inspector West
Michael Grant - Philip Bond
Christine Grant - Denise Buckley
Sir Guy Chatworth - Hamilton Dyce
Prendergast - John Cazabon
Vic - Charles Haggith
Carosian - Francis de Wolff
Arthur Morley - Preston Lockwood
Julieta - Eva Stuart
Sir Mortimer Grant - Humphrey Morton
Detective Sergeant Hubert Gill - Trevor Bannister
Pearly Willis - Henry Stamper
Superintendent Mulloon - Harry Webster
Produced by John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 4 May-15 June 1967
Inspector West at Home
Detective Inspector Bob Cornish - Frederick Treves
Mark Lessing - Edward de Souza
Superintendent Abbott - Grant Taylor
Pep Morgan - Harry Landis
Pickerell - Robert James
Sir Guy Chatworth - Maurice Hedley
Mrs Fleming - Margaret Robertson
Lois Randall - Carol Marsh
Bill Tennant - Anthony Jackson
'Whistler' Malone - Rio Fanning
Raymond Fleming - Frederick Jaeger
Produced by John Fawcett Wilson
Pianist: Max Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2, 25 March-15 April 1968
Inspector West at Bay
Sir Guy Chatworth - Maurice Hedley
Detective Inspector Bill Sloan - Derek Newark
Mark Lessing - James Kerry
Eve Wedlake - Anna Gilchrist
With Leonard Fenton, John Baddely, Elizabeth Proud, Judy Bennett, Margaret Wolfit, Peter Williams, John Pullen, Ian Frost and Peter Thompson
Produced by John Browell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2, 27 May-19 June 1969
The Radio Detectives, Series 3 Episode 5: Stand by for West
Presented by Professor Jeffrey Richards
With Richard Creasey, Patrick Allen and Sarah Lawson
Produced by Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 28th March 2000
From the first sentence to the last, this explosive, startling novel grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. Fiendishly clever and with a wonderful sense of place too. Go read!
—— Kate MosseI love Paula Hawkins, and this is why - A Slow Fire Burning twists and turns like a great thriller should, but it's also deep, intelligent and intensely human . . . the characters are just like people you know . . . or maybe even just like you yourself. Hawkins is proving herself a worthy 21st century heir to Barbara Vine and Patricia Highsmith.
—— Lee ChildMy Book of the Month, for which I predict big things . . . An intriguing, unputdownable thriller that is as much about the compelling, damaged characters as it is about the intricate plot.
—— Alice O’Keeffe, The BooksellerWith a beautifully wrought cast of characters who are real and likeable even when they are complicated and flawed, a fantastic, picturesque London setting, twists and turns galore and exquisite prose, this is a high class read. Paula Hawkins is a genius.
—— Lisa JewellPaula Hawkins's plotting is meticulous. A Slow Fire Burning is a clever onion of a book, expertly peeled.
—— Belinda BauerDark and disturbing, this twisted story with its cast of damaged characters builds to a brilliant conclusion. This one will stay with you for a long time.
—— Shari LapenaGripping and intriguing, I loved every moment of A Slow Fire Burning. Hawkins goes from strength to strength.
—— S. J. WatsonAn unflinching look at the damage sparked by grief, loss and betrayal - and the revenge and retribution that ensues. Compelling and intricately plotted, it was its flawed and utterly credible women, and the warmth and wit of their irreverent voices, that I loved the most.
—— Sarah VaughanA new Paula Hawkins novel is always a cause for celebration. Her books have all the pleasing twists of the noir genre while at the same time having something to say that feels real and complex and true - her women characters feel like someone you actually know.
—— Louise DoughtyA Slow Fire Burning is a hugely gripping, character-based thriller, with great writing and brilliant twists. Highly recommended.
—— John BoyneA Slow Fire Burning absolutely held me with its compelling, multi-generational cast of women and the brilliantly evoked pathos of damaged lives.
—— Fiona BartonI inhaled this novel, a gripping exploration of the damage that secrets can do, Hawkins' writing draws you in from the first word and refuses to let you go until the last.
—— Anna BaileyA Slow Fire Burning is Paula Hawkins at her best. Here are characters you want to spend time with, living in a world you believe in, and caught up in a plot that holds you in its grip. A thrilling read.
—— Renée KnightA truly satisfying, multi-layered maze of a mystery with a cast of flawed characters so real I'm still thinking of them days after I turned the last page.
—— Tammy CohenI don't know if this isn't Paula Hawkins' best novel yet. A Slow Fire Burning is superb
—— Harriet TyceI loved A Slow Fire Burning. The ingenious beginning snared me and I was held by the subtly powerful plot, such a difficult thing to do well and here, seemingly effortless. The characters were deliciously complex and utterly authentic and that is what has stayed with me the longest - their voices, their fragility, their distinct stories.
—— Jane ShemiltA Slow Fire Burning is a hugely satisfying, brilliantly crafted novel about the entanglement of betrayal and retaliation, the damage of loss, and how tragedy reverberates in ways we can never expect. Wickedly dark and gorgeously written, this is a novel you'll be thinking about long after the last delicious pages. Paula Hawkins is masterful.
—— Ashley AudrainTense, suspenseful and wholly surprising . . . you won't be able to put it down.
—— IndependentThe queen of the psychological thriller is back with her best book yet. It's such an addictive read . . . an absolute must-read
—— PrimaThe kind of book that stays with you for days after . . . cleverly plotted, powerful, unputdownable and sure to be another global hit.
—— My WeeklyA treat: utterly readable, moving in parts and saturated with the kind of localised detail that made The Girl on the Train so compelling . . . [It] will be seen, rightly, as a return to form; a London book from an excellent writer on London, and a tender portrait of characters that stay in the mind long after you've finished reading.
—— GuardianHarks back to peak-period Barbara Vine with its beautifully drawn characters and its offbeat London setting . . . This is a subtle, haunting thriller with many twists.
—— Mail on SundaySuperbly told, its twists and turns reveal the slow fire burning inside each which might just destroy them. Utterly compelling.
—— Daily MailVery cunningly structured . . . gets under the skin of a range of interesting characters.
—— Daily MirrorAn excellent page-turner to take on holiday
—— Kirsty Lang, BBC Radio 4 Front RowFast-paced, highly charged and carried off with so much confidence that it is impossible to resist.
—— Sunday TimesAn engrossing account of trauma, at the centre are three women driven by loss, secrets and revenge.
—— VogueA firecracker of a read full of unreliable narrators and big twists!
—— Fabulous magazine, Sun on SundayPaula's best work yet, a thoughtful, poignant interrogation of the sad, messy complicated business of human life
—— Waitrose Weekend magazineA multi-layered mystery, simmering with secrets, resentments and grief
—— Woman's WeeklyCompelling and challenging, A Slow Fire Burning explores the damage caused by betrayal and loss, and how this can manifest in disturbing acts of revenge and retribution. The author's first novel for four years is worth the wait and certain to cement her status as a publishing phenomenon.
—— Sunday ExpressShocking, moving, full of heart ... deeply layered and intricately plotted ... A Slow Fire Burning shows a writer at the height of her powers
—— The ObserverThis tense and irresistible read is best binged in one sitting
—— HeatIntricately interwoven plots and subplots, propulsive twists and a neat finale, a deliciously easy psycho drama to hungrily tear through.
—— Evening StandardA brilliant read
—— Bella magazineA psychological thriller that begins with a death on a canal boat and involves a cadre of shifty, damaged characters.
—— The i PaperA multi-layered mystery simmering with secrets, resentments and griefs.
—— WOMAN