Inspector Gilhooey has one final report to make – about the traitors, Jago and Litefoot…

Julian Richards has novelised Jonathan Barnes’ story in the “missing” box set of Jago & Litefoot adventures, and I’d be intrigued to see the original script, as changing something into a first person account necessarily involves a way of recapping material for which the narrator was not present… and in this case, the degree of non-presence applies to the narrator as well. It’s a clever conceit that gives this particular adventure a different air from others in the range – which 14 sets in, is no mean feat.

The story also switches gear partway through as we realise there’s far more to the Cotterill twins than simply a pair who have apparently seen through the changes in society that George Litefoot and HG Jago have encountered since that return last episode. I did wonder for a time if we were going to get into a convoluted version of Cluedo (or Clue for American readers) but the actual answer is a lot more clever.

Duncan Wisbey gives a great rendition of this tale. The fact that he’s narrating it as Gilhooey means that he’s filtering our two leads through the policeman’s voice, but as the story progresses (and as Gilhooey gets more confident giving his report), the particular vocal tics of both Trevor Baxter and Christopher Benjamin come through. Richard Fox’s sound design is suitably ambiguous at times, and there is a consistency with the series we’ve enjoyed for so long.

Verdict: Another great piece of the Jago & Litefoot canon restored. Surely a series 16 must be on the cards… 8/10

Paul Simpson

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