Torchwood: The Hope

This is one of the darker releases in the monthly Torchwood audio series, fully deserving the “adults only” label, and not because of any gore or sex. Instead, it's a psychological horror story that sees Owen and Andy trying to persuade a convicted serial killer to reveal where the bodies of her victims are buried. There are obvious parallels with real-world cases, notably the “Moors murders” of the 1960s, although there are also clear differences in the details so as not to hew too closely to a real tragedy. Either way, it's the sort of thing some people might wish to avoid; the earlier parts of the story are all too realistic.

In fact, it takes a while before anything happens that wouldn't fit in the real world. But, yes, this is eventually an SFF story, albeit not in a straightforward “aliens did it” mould. The SFF elements don't detract from the chilling evil of the killer, brilliantly portrayed by Dame Siân Phillips, or from the gloomy fogbound setting of the Snowdonia moorlands. Few of the characters come out of it entirely positively, yet there's also a good deal of sympathy for their situation. The pairing of Owen's cynicism with Andy's decency makes for an effective combination in a story about sometimes complex emotional relationships.