Litefoot and Sanders

"It is most definitely the work of a vampire."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Audio

Released: January 2011

Series: Jago & Litefoot 2.01

Featuring: Jago, Litefoot

Synopsis 

Women are being killed on the streets of London, and the evidence points to it being the work of a vicious vampire. This should be a case for Jago and Litefoot but – to the astonishment of Jago – the esteemed investigators of infernal incidents have gone their separate ways. It's now a case for Litefoot and Sanders – but Jago isn't going to go away quietly...

Verdict

Litefoot and Sanders was a really fun story to kick off the second series of Jago & Litefoot! This followed on almost immediately where the first series finished with there seemingly being some fractions in the relationship between the titular characters, but the truth about that came full circle in a really nice way. On a personal note, it was just lovely to head back to Victorian England and have Jago in the pub talking to Ellie. I think she’s a severely underrated element of this spin-off range at the moment and she really does add a lot despite just being a barmaid and not offering too many lines other than drink orders. Her importance was clear by how significant the cliffhanger was in which it appeared that she was killed! That was something I didn’t expect but it has immediately peaked my interest in the series moving forward, whereas this opener still felt like it was finishing elements of the first series. The idea of a vampire at large in Victorian London was excellent and I was impressed with how well the atmosphere was captured. It really did feel like a scary kind of adventure but it also felt extremely real and believable. That’s some feat for a vampire story! I thought it was pretty predictable that Sanders was the one who was doing all of the murdering and the intentional slip of him knowing that the culprit was a ‘he’ told the listener everything they needed to know. It was clear that Litefoot was playing the long game and getting close to the man he knew responsible, but he had to convince him and that meant not letting Jago in on the act. I mean, given Jago’s reputation I could hardly blame him for going solo on this one! Jago felt hard done by which was completely understandable and it was especially fun to hear him put on a tramp disguise. The comment about the smell even being authentic was childish but the seriousness of Jago’s retort really makes it special. It’s just a lot of fun. The pair work so well together and whilst we didn’t get that here, the interaction was there and I can’t wait for them to be back solving mysteries as the series goes on. Vampire methods of killing were abound here and finding bloodless victims wasn’t even new for Jago and Litefoot, but it was a disturbing prospect and the imagery was painted perfectly. I thought the setting was utilised well and Mags was a really good character as a match girl posing as being blind. That worked well for audio and it was a brilliant way to reveal Sanders as the murderer. The way he confronted her was pretty horrifying and the use of the insects to kill her was grotesque. The sound effects of the smaller creatures following around him was good and really told you he was disturbing. He was a fine villain for this opener. The use of the matchsticks to be rid of Sanders was really cleverly done and brought the episode full circle really nicely. The aforementioned cliffhanger was brilliant though and soon shifted tone so I’m very intrigued to hear where things go from here! Overall, a fine start to the series if not a predictable twist.

Rating: 8/10