Review by Daniel Mansfield

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The Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz’s audio adventures continue with The Violet Hour by Rafaella Marcus.

After the rip-roaring, explosive Ride or Die, this is a slower-paced, more atmospheric tale, taking us to the murky underbelly of London, 1926, a place of music halls, séances and an unearthly power.

The first half of the story, where the Doctor and Yaz investigate the deaths of psychic mediums across London, is the strongest, with the former PC Khan getting some actual detective work to do, and the Doctor taking it upon herself to stand up for young women who have been forgotten by the authorities, which I thought a particularly lovely character beat.

The TARDIS twosome’s developing relationship with Olivia Marcus‘s bereaved Miriam is a highlight of these early scenes too, while the behind-the-scenes machinations of the sinister Maltravers (David Robb) and his assistant Kidney (Joseph Arkley) keep us guessing as to what really going on.

When The Violet Hour finally plays its hand, though, it’s hard not to be a little disappointed at how similar the central conceit is to one of the Thirteenth Doctor’s TV stories, especially as Lionesses in Winter from earlier in the range already (re)covered similar ground. While this certainly is the less egregiously copycat of the two stories, it’s still a shame to hear something so familiar in a range so ripe for ingenuity.

That said, this is still a highly enjoyable story, with lots of strong moments for the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz (and one that will make Thasmin fans positively giddy!), some evocative settings and characters, and quite the cliffhanger that’ll keep appetites well and truly whetted for the next instalment in May.

The Violet Hour is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com

The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures continue in May with Aegis