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Bob Bailey & Virginia Gregg in front of an old Microphone

Bob Bailey & Virginia Gregg

Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio! A podcast featuring the best vintage detective radio programs. Each week from Monday through Saturday, we feature six of Old Time Radio's great detective series from the beginning of the show to its very last episode. And as a bonus, twice a month we also post a public domain movie or TV mystery or detective show video.

Along the way, I'll provide you my commentary and offer you opportunities to interact.

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- Your host, Adam Graham

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EP1311: Pursuit: Pursuit at the Vicarage

Ben Wright

Inspector Black is called in to investigate threats against a beloved local vicar.

Original Air Date: August 21, 1951

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Book Review: Nothing to Hide


Nothing to Hide begins with Roland March investigating a murder where the victim was beheaded and skinned. An FBI Agent gives him the name of the victim but then he sees the supposed victim at the same spot where his partner is gunned down, Marsh knows he’s on to something bigger.

On Administrative leave while the police investigates his shooting of the man who killed his partner, March continues a quiet investigation into a dark world of ex-CIA men, and drug and gun running, where no one is quite what they seem and no one can be trusted.

The book is a major departure from previous books with its emphasis on clandestine intelligence and Mexican gun running, it reads more like a spy novel at points rather than a police procedural.

Unlike in previous books where Marsh’s personal life with supporting characters is a subplot, here it feels more like background or characterization. The book spends less time on his current relationships and more time on his past when he was a Marine lieutenant who encountered a mysterious man who offered him an entirely different path.

From a character standpoint, this is a fascinating story. The flashbacks tie into the main storyline. It also gives us a picture of who Roland March is and why he does what he does. This is an important question. March’s beloved Captain is forced out by politics and replaced by his old boss, a woman whose leadership style is to make a cult of personality around her. His administrative leave is drug out by the Internal Affairs division despite evidence that he did nothing wrong. I found myself wandering whether March would ride off into the sunset to spend more time with his oft-traveling wife.

By the end of the book, I realized that wasn’t going to happen and this book revealed why. Nothing to Hide paints a portrait of a man whose dedication to justice sometimes borders on fanaticism. He walks a fine line between tenacity and vigilante madness. Arguably he goes slightly over the line in this book before coming back.

March is the type of guy that George Orwell had mind when he said, “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” Nothing to Hide is a book that left me admiring Roland March and slightly scared for him at the same time.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5.0

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EP1310: Police Headquarters: Deadly Poker Game, Judge Carlton Missing

The police go to investigate a suicide but find evidence that suggests it was a fame in “Deadly Poker Game.”

A Judge is missing and a reporter and his faithful photographer are on the trail but are sidetracked at a fire where they find another photographer murdered.

Episodes 32 and 33 (1932)

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EP1309: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Kirbey Will Matter

Bob Bailey

Johnny goes to Lake Mojave to investigate the death of a fishing guide/retiree with a greedy family.

Original Air Date: February 3, 1957

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EP1308: Nick Carter: The Case of the Unwritten Letter

Lon Clark
Nick Carter goes to investigate the case of a medium who is afraid of ghosts during the day and finds a corpse with an unwritten letter.

Original Air Date: July 29, 1945

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EP1307: Philip Marlowe: The Hard Way Out

Gerald Mohr
Marlowe is hired by the owner of a business to find an embezzling general manager in hopes of straightening him out before he throws his future away.

Original Air Date: November 28 ,1948

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EP1306: Pat Novak: Rita Malloy

Jack Webb

A gunsel steals a boat from Pat Novak, and winds up dead, and when Novak goes to the Hotel he finds a nightclub singer dead. As usual, Hellman’s ready to pin the crime on Novak.

Original Air Date: May 1, 1949

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Click here to download, click here to add this podcast to your Itunes, click here to subscribe.