Whodunnit?

"There's been a murder."

Writer: Matt Fitton
Format: Audio
Released: September 2018
Series: The Diary of River Song 4.03

Featuring: River Song

Synopsis

Melody Malone finds herself in a castle with an assortment of strange companions. But guests are being murdered, one by one. Time is running out for a mystery to be solved. And Franz Kafka is hiding something in the attic.

Verdict

Whodunnit? was a brilliant audio adventure to continue the fourth series of The Diary of River Song! Things got right back on track with this one and I liked that it was mostly a standalone adventure whilst having a grander purpose in the arc of the boxset. There is something special about a murder mystery story and I like that they haven't been overdone in Doctor Who so far. The finest example is surely Unicorn and the Wasp which is just brilliant, but I imagine they may increase in the Jago and Litefoot spinoff series with the Victorian setting that seems to be the go to setting for a story of this nature. Time was playing up in this location though, which turned out to be a castle in Prague, and I liked the idea of pages being missing which provided gaps. As if a murder mystery wasn't already difficult! It wasn't hard to follow though which was good and I really liked how the events played out. River taking on the persona of Melody Malone was terrific and I liked how she was expected and somewhat revered by the residents of the castle. The use of the Doctor was very intriguing in this audio with him supposedly having been in a car accident with River prior to where the story started. I liked that it turned out all to be a fiction and her plan to trap the Discordia and rid them from the universe for good. Fiction is a wonderful concept to play with and the desperation of River Song to escape from the Discordia was on full display in the flashback sequence where she approached Franz Kafka for a mystery that would keep her conscious mind busy. Whilst she was solving a murder, unconsciously she'd be finding a way to defeat the Discordia. And she found it. She'd hoped to trap them in the fictionalised creation of a dying writer and have his death take them with him for good. It was an audacious plan but one I absolutely loved! I was a massive fan of The Mind Robber so playing with fiction again here was right up my alley. I enjoyed it very much. The Doctor actually making things difficult though with his interference, which was unheard for the listener, was quite typical and now the Discordia were still free. And they were on a mission. General Dante, who had excellent played the role of investigator after adopting a sense of humour, was determined to change history anywhere she'd stepped foot and also to alter her future. The Discordia didn't like someone getting the better of them. But for their new mission, they needed approval from the enigmatic Emperor. I do look forward to meeting him and also for the Doctor to join River Song in what is sure to be a phenomenal finale! I am very excited for what is to come. River suspecting things early on was good and showed why she was such a good investigator, but the only qualm I had was it not being totally clear that her memory was faded and hazy. Other than that, this was a fantastic audio adventure and when you can't see things, a murder mystery story somehow gets an added dimension and even more of an enigmatic feeling. Imagination really can run wild. Overall, an excellent audio!

Rating: 9/10