This is a tight and textured story in two episodes that doesn't miss a beat. The central hook of what makes it work would be a spoiler to elaborate upon, as it's revealed midway into proceedings (although I daresay the cover gives it away a bit). But what I can say is that instead of retreading old ground, Dorney provides a new and intriguing approach to this existing concept, one that has an impressive emotional payoff towards the end by way of a devious twist. It's a story that seemingly has some points to make, a standalone piece of art, rather than a sheer romp. Very satisfying.

The portrayal of the Crooked Man himself is insanely creepy and makes this one of the darker audios, ratcheting up the tension and eventually preying on some really human fears...

This audio starts in a quite emotionally exhausting fashion. Things move at a slow pace as we see just how messed up the 7th Doctor and Ace are after we last saw them, there is some brutally honest introspection as well as quite poignant reflecting on the past. Things get more upsetting as the Doctor has to personally face up to his own complicity in the tragedy.

When the actual plot appears to start setting up, for a brief while you're left wondering where it's going and what it has to do with anything. But as we should all be expecting by now, there is a huge twist on its way that sends everything careening off in a bonkers new direction.

The middle two episodes are a bit bogged down by plot shenanigans (though I expect they're more interesting on a second listen when you know what's really going on), but the reveal at the end of part 3 ratchets the stakes back up to whopping levels. I could be accused of being too emotionally invested in the outcome but I was gripped from beginning to (very intriguing) end. McCoy's Doctor also has a moment in the final episode that's so awesome I think I'm going to go and relisten to it right now.

Episode 1 precedes fairly normally, and all seems to be panning out as the cover and description indicate - then the cliffhanger occurs, and the following episodes spiral into one of the most off-the-wall premises for a Doctor Who story I have come across (they would NEVER get away with it on TV). It grabs a certain piece of history and takes it in a far less cute direction than you might expect (almost sick - no, GENUINELY a bit sick). When the story's deadly antagonist came to the fore I was left grinning like a naughty child at Morris' imagination.

If you can stomach your Who slightly more deranged, you will have a great time, as a macabre, complex plot with increasingly bonkers cliffhangers unfolds around the Doctor and Peri. They both get plenty to do as they try to unravel different ends of one dilemma, and also show the extent to which they've become a superb team. It's primarily a rip-roaringly fun adventure full of surprises, but there are sincere messages emerging through the madness, and Colin Baker especially is at his most lovely.

Try to go in without getting spoiled!