BBC Radio 4, November 4, 2022 and BBC Sounds

Lindsay calls for Dan’s help…

The last thing anyone needs after a long night shift is a call from the local nick. And the last thing that Dan needs is it being the former Revd Lindsay calling for his help, after she’s been found near the sinkhole where Dan’s friend DI Sarah Ward disappeared – an area that, for very good reasons, is shut off to the public.

Actually, that’s not the last thing Dan needs. The very last thing is a call from work summoning him back because of a security breach during his shift – caused, Dan realises, by someone with whom he has a very unusual connection. And that leads to a very embarrassing conversation with Lindsay, harking back to the latter’s deeds on the altar the previous year. (And if you haven’t heard series 1, your mind is no doubt heading in… precisely the right direction.) I called the recapitulation of information deft last time around, and that continues here – I had forgotten the way in which one particular facet materialised and the conversation between Dan and Lindsay triggers that well: Tyger Drew-Honey and Jasmine Hyde pitch it well.

One of the descriptions of very early Doctor Who was that the TARDIS could travel to the past, present, future or sideways, and there’s an element of that here in the way we’re learning about the ties that bind Harland together. (There’s also a coincidental link to parts of the current Witch Farm podcast investigation here in terms of the possible causes of activity.) We’ve got Old English episode titles, and a very near-future VR game all blended into one – and just what is going on with the fish?

Verdict: Lucy Catherine continues to weave Harland’s web around the listener. 9/10

Paul Simpson