It Takes a Thief

"I've never been found guilty of anything."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: August 2018

Series: Lady Christina 1.01

Featuring: Lady Christina

Synopsis

The French Riviera has always provided rich pickings for the aristocratic cat-burglar. Lady Christina is enjoying the high life while adding to her collection.

But when suspicion falls on her after a robbery-turned-murder, Christina decides to catch the culprit herself...

Verdict

It Takes a Thief was a brilliant start to the Lady Christina series! I must admit that even I was surprised and sceptical by the idea of this character getting her own spinoff, but Michelle Ryan pulled off a triumphant return to the role and this was a very fun hour of audio drama. It started well with the murder of Maud Hunter and the theft of the tiara and given our knowledge of the series lead character, it appeared that this was carried out by Lady Christina. The fact that Maud was part of French nobility was intriguing and I should also mention the funky opening theme for this series. I thought it was really good and definitely suits the kind of story I expect from Lady Christina. The setting of Nice was great and the whole riviera vibe fit perfectly for a theft-themed adventure. Ivo was a fantastic character to have Christina alongside and the action packed start where she helped him get his wallet back after it was stolen was a lot of fun, especially with the car chase and how she put on the brakes in front of the thieves! This seemed to be a little bit of time removed from the events of Planet of the Dead and I liked how Christina had personal issues since then. She definitely seemed a little more lighthearted and I loved that this was attributed to the Doctor's impact on her life. Ivo having in his possession a very valuable ring of his grandma's was terrific and it was very coincidental (not really!) that both he and Christina were staying at the same hotel. Their being greeted by INTERPOL was very good and Flavia Santos made for a really great villain in the end. Christina being accused of Maud's murder worked well and I thought it was wonderful that her alibi was that she was actually in Monte Carlo stealing a necklace. She seemed intrigued by this theft and likened it to an amateur given the murder to go alongside it. Finding out that Christina had planned all along to steal Ivo's ring away was not too surprising but very fun but I was surprised that she hadn't orchestrated the theft of his wallet. Of course, the intentions there were even better by the end. It was interesting to discover that there was a recent meteor crash in the area and it turned out that the jewel in Maud's tiara was not of this Earth. That was intriguing and it soon led Christina and Ivo to go to the scene of the crime and find some unearthly scorch marks. Her detective insight was impressive. She didn't understand why they missed some valuable items but took little other bits that were actually found later at Christina's penthouse in an effort to frame her. She worked it out by this point and the arrest and cliff jump that followed was spectacular! Carla was a lovely character and the plan C that involved her meeting up with Christina whilst she was in hiding was terrific. I thought the continuity of her having Barclay's phone and calling UNIT was outstanding and it was really good to have her converse with Sam Bishop! Even if he was in the middle of a pterodactyl problem. His confirming that recent ongoings in the area involved extraterrestrial technology was fun and I liked how he knew of her after reading the file of the wormhole. Flavia wanting the alien technology that Christina had was fantastic, although I'm not sure why her parking of the 200 bus on top of the hotel made things so confusing for our culprit. Ivo sneaking in and putting Flavia out for the count was good and I loved the twist that he was actually a part of INTERPOL! Christina knew that as well though which was excellent. The recording of Flavia's confession was good, but she was soon back up and not out for the ten minutes that Ivo had claimed she would be! The revelation that INTERPOL had actually paid the thieves at the start of the audio was great and they'd known of Christina all along. There were some great twists. The fight scene with Flavia to see her off was effective and quick but the way things ended with her hug actually being a way for her to get the ring she had desired all along was magnificent. Sam calling Ivo at the end revealing that was very good and Carla's farewell on Christina's behalf was a wonderful way to end things! Overall, this was a super fun audio adventure.

Rating: 9/10