The Mind Of Mr J.G. Reeder (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:,Mr JG Reeder has the mind of a criminal, using it to uncover the peculiar circumstances surrounding a bank robbery, the death of the night-watchman and the part in the plot played by his beautiful daughter.This first story provides useful insight into the past of Mr JG Reeder. His novel methods bring the criminals of 1920s London to justice.Novelist, playwright and journalist, Edgar Wallace, is best known for his popular detective and suspense stories which, in his lifetime, earned him the title, "King of the Modern Thriller."Although created at roughly the same time, Mr JG Reeder is the diametric opposite of Sam Spade, Philip Marlow and Mike Hammer. He is a shabbily dressed, diffident civil servant who prefers a cup of tea and a slice of seed cake to a shot of something stronger.Reeder is a uniquely English detective. An apparent fuddy-duddy working in some obscure capacity in the Public Prosecutor's office, he actually has a razor-sharp intellect and is a super-sleuth. He solves his mysteries because he fully understands the "criminal mind".Read by David HorovitchAbridged for radio by Neville Telle
I'm afraid the J.G. Reeder stories suffer from comparison to Sherlock Holmes. Reeder resembles Holmes in a few respects; quirky, with a fantastic memory and a talent for putting together clues. I enjoy Holmes' arrogance and manic qualities. Reeder, on the other hand, is outwardly demure, unimpressive, and except for a seeming inability to do anything but work, is without charming faults to balance his brilliance. Still, I shouldn't be so critical. In fact I enjoyed these little stories, despite Wallace's inability to create any sort of tense build-up. The "reveal" is always thorough and satisfying.
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