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Kennedy Fisher has headed to North America; Matthew Heawood is in Mosul. Both pulling at strands of an affair that’s much bigger than either of them can realise…

Julian Simpson’s excellent Lovecraft retelling comes to an end (only, one suspects – or hopes – for now) with this eight episode podcast that uses Lovecraft’s The Shadow over Innsmouth as the starting point for a tale of treachery, deceit, and a lust for power that has lasted for centuries. Incorporating the COVID-19 pandemic as another obstacle for the two lead characters to overcome is a nice touch, and there are so many twists and turns that it’s hard looking back at the end to realise just where the characters were at the start of this season.

If you know the Lovecraft novella, you’ll know some of the connections that are made – and the events of the novella form part of the history behind the story. Simpson incorporates it further into the mythology that he’s developed himself, not just in these three series but in various other plays he’s written over the years, tying things together in a horrific theory that Nicola Walker’s Eleanor Peck expounds towards the end of the story… one that when you’re caught up in it feels all too plausible.

Barnaby Kay and Jana Carpenter, as well as Walker, never fail to imbue the story with the credibility that it requires to keep the audience involved, as do the supporting cast (particularly Steven Mackinstosh as Jasper). As director, Simpson varies the pace within each episode, moving between the two central strands fluidly, and David Thomas’ sound design is all-encompassing.

If you’ve not tried these stories before, begin with The Case of Charles Dexter Ward; this isn’t the place to start! But it’s one hell of a place to finish…

Verdict: Creepy, gripping and thoroughly engaging – one of my favourite pieces of audio in recent time. 9/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to read our interview with Julian Simpson about series 2.