1. 21 Shades of Noir: Lee Child on John D MacDonald (16 days left)
As the author of the internationally renowned Jack Reacher series, Lee Child knows how to draw his readers into a story.
And for decades he's been intrigued by the unusual life of John D MacDonald. Born in 1916, MacDonald was from a comfortable Pennsylvanian family. He went to Harvard and worked in naval intelligence during The Second World War. mustering out as a Lieutenant Colonel. It was what the British would call "a good war".
But Lee Child has always been confused by what happened next. With the pick of General Motors, IBM or maybe even The Pentagon before him - this Harvard MBA promptly spent five months, sitting at a table and hammering out pulp fiction, losing five stone in the process.
After 800,000 words and constant toil he managed to sell a story for $25 dollars. Writing under dozens of pen-names John D rode the paperback boom, crafting more than 60 novels in all and creating what Lee Child considers to be his greatest creation - the 21 novels featuring his world-weary "salvage consultant" and righter of wrongs, Travis McGee.
Lee Child considers the mystery at the heart of John D's work, and the mysterious life of one of popular fiction's most enigmatic authors.
2a. Meet James McLevy (11 days left)
How it all began - a remake of the first episode of the Victorian detective drama featuring Inspector James McLevy - which first aired on Radio 4 in 1999.
Written by David Ashton.
Starring Brian Cox and Siobhan Redmond
The death of a bank manager from a heart attack might have seemed straightforward enough - except he was found dead and naked in the Water of Leith. When it's revealed that the man was last seen trying to "save" girls in a brothel run by Jean Brash, McLevy's suspicions are aroused. Assisted by Constable Mulholland, newly arrived from Ireland, McLevy investigates.
2b. Four new episodes of McLevy (13 to 16 days left)
3. Short story by Sarah Hilary: Snip-snip (27 days left)
When ten year old Nicky finds himself aboard a boat from his homeland of Russia en route to England where a life of promised adventures and the opportunity to play football awaits, he inadvertently stumbles on a dark, sinister, and terrifying secret.
Sarah Hilary takes us into an ominous and disturbing hidden world in her latest story for Radio 4. Sarah is the author of the Marnie Rome series of crime novels, the first of which, 'Someone Else's Skin' won the 2015 Crime Novel of the Year Award.
4. There are also two Doctor Who serials available for a few more days: Protect and Survive, and Fanfare for the Common Men and not forgetting Doctor Who spin-off Class which began airing on BBC Three on Saturday.
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