Come Die With Me

"It's just a game, and soon it will be your turn to play."

Writer: Jamie Anderson

Format: Audio

Released: December 2015

Series: Monthly Adventures 207b

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis

A spooky old house. A body in the library. A killer on the loose. The Doctor accepts the challenge laid down by the sinister Mr Norris: to solve a murder mystery that's defeated 1,868 of the greatest intellects in the universe... and counting.

Verdict

Come Die With Me was a great little story to continue my way through the You Are the Doctor collection comprising the two-hundred-and-seventh Monthly Adventure! After a bit of a shaky start with the opener in the release taking then umbrella title, we are back in business here with a terrific little story! I really enjoyed this one and it was good continuity from You Are the Doctor to have Ace continuing to be learning about flying the TARDIS. I wouldn't be surprised if giving her these abilities are just all part of another game of the Seventh Doctor's, but I think it's nice that a companion like Ace could gain the ability to pilot the TARDIS. We're never quite sure just how long she stays as a companion but we know it's a long old time so why wouldn't she want to learn? I think it's amusing for her to keep getting things wrong but she can hardly be blamed again here as a time scoop ensured the Doctor was quickly part of a very intriguing game. The atmosphere of the spooky house was impressive and I liked how this made Ace uncomfortable going back to Ghost Light and everything that happened there with Gabriel Chase. That was a good reference and with everything that got revealed there, who could blame her for feeling uneasy in a similar environment? This kind of story was perfect for the Seventh Doctor and he just couldn't resist taking part in the game of Mr Norris. This did feel like something of a more straightforward game where this incarnation is concerned as a murder mystery is very common! It's good stuff and it did feel like the Doctor and Ace were thrust into a novel. Especially with the continued warnings to Ace about not going in the library! I think the fact only Mr Norris and the housekeeper were present was fun because it was clear that the culprit was not going to be a 50/50 chance. Especially with the scale of those that had come before the Doctor to try and solve the mystery. I thought Norris made for a superb villain and the casting of Jamie Newall was perfect. His inflexions in the delivery of his lines were magnificent and really helped capture that host feel with the spooky house setting. He just worked. I liked the threat that came Ace's way when she was indeed trapped in the library and the countdown of little more than three minutes injected some urgency into the story that really helped speed things along. The pace as frantic and whilst that was exciting, I do think the basis for this story would have worked even better as a feature length story. It was almost a bit quick for a murder mystery, but the Doctor and Ace genuinely combining together to solve it was marvellous. I'm becoming more of a fan of this pairing the more I listen to them even if they are probably my least favourite TARDIS duo! Harsh words I know. The Doctor being such a part of the game for Norris was amusing when he time scooped himself into Ace's predicament with two minutes to solve the murder instead of just getting her out! Ace was hardly shocked that he was playing Norris at the game, but with two minutes left the mission was on. Finding out that the murderees where the murderers was a good twist, but with the memorialiser present and a limited cast, what else could it have possibly been? The reaction of Norris when the Doctor and Ace emerged safely was just splendid. He couldn't believe the mystery was solved! Ace knowing that Morecambe needed to be scrubbed off the list before inputting was very good too. A proper team effort! Overall, a really entertaining story that I think would have been even better with more characters and a longer format to really draw out the mystery. A very good listen!

Rating: 8/10