Blinded Secrets

"The end days are upon us all."

Writer: David Bishop

Format: Audio

Released: November 2005

Series: Sarah Jane Smith 2.01

Featuring: Sarah Jane

Synopsis

Sarah Jane Smith believes her days as a crusading investigator are behind her, safe from those who tried to destroy her. But others believe she has a destiny and they will stop at nothing to prevent her fulfilling it.

A trip to Florence to help an old friend leads to the unearthing of a murderous conspiracy buried within the city's catacombs...

Verdict

Blinded Secrets was an excellent start to the second series of the Sarah Jane Smith spinoff from Big Finish! I must admit that I was a little sceptical about getting back into this range for a strange reason as I actually quite enjoyed the first series, but what I listened to here was excellent! I think it might have something to do with the lack of destination from here and how the Sarah Jane Adventures would come to be the 'true' Sarah Jane spinoff, but this was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the continuity from the end of the first series with the news bulletin reporting on the deaths of Winters and Harris after everything that occurred in the previous finale. Josh and Natalie were on the phone which was a good way to reintroduce them to listens and I thought it was a good move for there to have been a time jump from the events where we left the main characters. Nat was now in Italy which seemed like a great gig! Sarah Jane was done with the extraterrestrial and the strange and she was doing her bit for the course with her aunt's money and putting that to good use. Dr Edmons was a fun character as the new professor heading to Florence and the mystery planted by the revelation that the previous person in his position had disappeared without a trace. Placing Natalie as the archivist on his team worked well and provided a good way for Sarah Jane to get involved. The emergence of Will was a big surprise and a pleasant one with it being revealed that he was Harry Sullivan's step-brother! That was unexpected, but I did love the idea of Sarah and Harry having an annual dinner together. That was a lovely touch. The uncovering of Brunetti (sp?), the former professor, was gruesome and the description that his arms and legs had to have been broken to get him into the child casket was quite something! Will explaining how he had plans to head back to Antarctica was good and I liked the coincidence of him being part of Munro's team that Sarah was actually helping financially. That came back post-credits in a nice little lead into the next episode. The letter received by Josh for Sarah being from Winters beyond the grave was brilliant and I loved the warnings and the mentions of future orphans and the book of tomorrow. The lack of clarity provided from the need to translate adds a good sense of mystery. The reveal of the Keeper was intriguing and I found her role and desire for the letter very interesting indeed. Luca was a terrific character and him being the one that had killed Brunetti was a logical development. His confrontation of Sarah in the chamber was a strong moment of fear and I liked how he had been searching for the identity of the Herald. Who else but Sarah Jane would that be! The need to prevent her ID being revealed to the White Chapter was very good and I loved the chaos that ensue from there with Edmons being shot, as well as Luka. The latter was killed by Josh in order for Sarah's life to be saved, and whilst she was happy to be alive she wasn't thrilled that this was the second time Josh had to do something along those lines. For Nat, it was all a bit much and she needed to get away which was understandable. I do hope she features in future episodes though! But for now, this was a fantastic start to the series. 

Rating: 9/10