The Casebook of Paternoster Row: Pater Noster

"We are not your monsters."

Writer: Gary Russell

Format: Audio

Released: April 2024

Series: Paternoster Gang 6.02

Featuring: Vastra, Jenny, Strax

Synopsis

Something is hiding in the sewers of London, picking off the poor and lost souls who live down there...

Madame Vastra opens a case file that takes her back to her early days and a Life Task that must be finally fulfilled. A case where she and her friends face death from an enemy capable of shredding matter into echoing screams...

Verdict

Pater Noster was a great story to continue my way through The Casebook of Paternoster Row latest series of adventures for the Paternoster Gang! The Trespassers theme was also very much prominent in the story which was appreciated and it's fun for that to get Strax's mind ticking over given his obvious hatred for the Rutans. They have shape changing abilities and I would love for them to show up at some point in this series. Might they be coming at the end of the fourth boxset under the Trespassers moniker? That would be tremendous. For now though, it was brilliant to get a case for the Great Detective and it really did feel like a mystery. I enjoyed how Stray had even noticed that rats were going missing from the Thames sewers as he desperately wanted something to pulverise. He was desperate for some fighting action and was actually getting a little grumpy about things. His mission to pass on a note at the tavern was fun as he tried very badly to hide that he was familiar with the establishment and its downstairs fighting room. Even Jenny had earned a pretty penny there! That was a nice touch and Vastra's reaction of being proud that her wife had stopped the taking of bets because of her skill was marvellous. The expected Strax comedy came fantastically here with the mistaking of a conjugal visit line. The reaction from Jenny in particular there when it was suggested by the Sontaran that Vastra would be the subject of such a visit was terrific. The dynamic and chemistry between the trio was on point here and it made for really easy listening. The Victorian ere was the perfect place for a story like this and I thought the little pre-titles sequence of Vastra taking a Life Task from the Weave to find their missing member was fascinating. It all linked back nicely by the end and it was fun for the Great Detective to actually get an aspect of her work wrong. She was utterly convinced when opening the control box that it would be Marjerie revealed as the Weave member and resultant monster taking out the poor community living in the sewers, but it turned out to actually be Pater Noster himself! The title of the episode perhaps gave that away, but it was still a good moment despite the predictability of it coming. His shift from Victorian gentleman to not wanting to go back to the Weave was good and there was a strong villain there. The scale of his hiding out and transforming was almost unfathomable for him to be around whilst Vastra was in her deep sleep, but it also showed just how much he endured. The way things were actually weaved out as far as Pater Noster was concerned was exciting and the return of the Weave in the form of Weave Pilot 27 was good even if it was expected. He took command and to the horror of Marjerie after losing so many of her community hub and friends, there would be no serious punishment for the Weave. That didn't seem right and she was rightly outraged, but he would be reabsorbed into the Weave collective to see things out. It was a shame really that he didn't pay for his actions, but I did like how more sympathy was presented onto Marjerie as a result. The Paternoster Gang offered their services if they were ever required which I thought was nice. Overall, a really strong episode! 

Rating: 8/10