The Monstrous Menagerie

"I'm not writing any more Sherlock Holmes!"

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: April 2014

Series: Jago & Litefoot 7.01

Featuring: Jago, Litefoot

Synopsis 

Jago and Litefoot are on the run! Framed for a crime they didn't commit, the infernal investigators seek refuge in a house on Baker Street owned by their old friend, Professor Dark.

That's when Doctor Arthur Conan Doyle enters their lives. Tired of his popular creation Sherlock Holmes, Doyle has moved onto other works that he considers more worthy.

And then Laura Lyons comes knocking at the door...

Verdict 

The Monstrous Menagerie was a great way to kick off the seventh series of Jago and Litefoot! This is such a  strong spin-off range that shows no signs of letting up here as we continue on from the shocking events of The Trial of George Litefoot that saw both Jago and Litefoot become wanted people after the former was convinced of murder and the pair were seemingly involved in an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria! The concept of them both being on the run is a brilliant basis for the series and having them lying low and trying to keep a low profile is going to be easier said than done. I suspect we won’t be hearing much from Ellie this series if they can’t go for a pint at their stomping ground of the Red Tavern. That’s a shame but I’m sure we’ll start building towards them clearing their names, as the conclusion suggests with Willis being a potential survivor that could prove as a witness it was not Litefoot the culprit. That’s a good glimpse of hope for the pair, but the emergence of the mysterious detective at the end will prove a strong hinderance. I think Quick’s involvement is fantastic and it’s really nice for Jago and Litefoot to actually have someone in authority on their side for once. I’m sure he’ll do a good job in keeping them hidden as they try to clear their names from the shadows. In the background though they were keen to help with the issue of the beast of Bethnal Green that was viciously going around killing innocent Londoners. The truth of that being grotesque hounds from the 61st century was not something I expected, but a fault line was created in time from the travellers from the future as they tried to pick up samples from the Jurassic period. There was the time equivalent of a storm along the way meaning they were stuck in the nineteenth century and the hounds and even a stegosaurus could slip through! There were strong Invasion of the Dinosaurs vibes there for a minute which was fun. Unfortunately, I’ve never read or watched any kind of fiction by or about Sherlock Holmes so a lot of the finer details in this episode were lost on me. I did really like Arthur Conan Doyle and his efforts to try and distance himself from Holmes as a character in his book, but I didn’t know enough about his creation to fully appreciate some elements of the episode. It was a lot of fun for Jago and Litefoot to jump around the fact they hadn’t read any of his other works but the whole story being an in-universe basis for him penning The Hounds of the Baskerville was completely unexpected! I quite liked that and Laura Lyons being a character because Doyle met her from the future here was very interesting. It was fun as well to think of Litefoot purchasing the book when it was released in his personal future and reading it knowing why it was written and the truth of the message it contained. Baskerville being the enemy was good and his audacity to ask Doyle to autograph some book copies before intending to kill him was a fine villainous quality! I thought his fate being sealed by the law enforcement of the future was decent and set up Doyle nicely to write his new adventure for Holmes despite his insistence that he’d killed off the character. Maybe he would take on that idea of a prequel after all. Overall, a great listen!

Rating: 8/10