DS Manson: Three BBC Radio 4 crime thrillers

Three detective thrillers set in the Met's Missing Persons Bureau

After shooting a teenage boy in an undercover operation, DS Sue Manson is taken off the front line and transferred to a desk job in Missing Persons. But no sooner has she arrived than she's in the thick of the action once more, tasked with tracking down a trio of twisted criminals...

Fractions of Zero - When a desperate father begs DS Manson to find his daughter, the sole clue is a cryptogram on the back of a missing persons notice. Once unravelled, the code turns out to be a riddle that leads them to the location of a dead girl. More ciphers follow, and more victims - all seemingly selected at random - and Sue realises that she's dealing with a serial killer obsessed with numbers. Can she work out his system before he strikes again?

Final Sacrament - After three people disappear for no apparent reason, DS Manson finds herself on the hunt for another serial killer. Her only leads are the cardboard triangles left at the victims' homes along with traces of a deadly toxin, and a series of macabre snaps sent to a South London priest. Father Raphoe believes the photographs are mimicking a series of religious paintings by Renaissance artist Nicolas Poussin. But who is targeting Raphoe's parishioners, and why?

Fragments of Amy - Back from maternity leave, Sue Manson tackles the case of a missing heiress, Amy Muggeridge, abducted on her way back from a party. When a CD arrives containing a ransom message and a riddle, Manson seeks help from Amy's twin, Angela, who seems to have a psychic connection with her sister. Under hypnosis, she provides a vital clue to the kidnapper's identity - but is it too late to save Amy?

Created by novelist Bill Murphy, one of the writers of Radio 4's Baldi, these gripping detective dramas star Susan Lynch and Annie Farr as Sue Manson.

Fractions of Zero
Sue Manson - Susan Lynch
James Ellstrom - Philip Glenister
Dr Fred Johnson - Clive Merrison
Insp. Phillips - David Bannerman
Mags Langan - Alison Pettitt
Lee Horsley - David Holt
Supt. - Nigel Anthony

Directed by Tanya Nash

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 5-9 August 2002

Final Sacrament
Sue Manson - Annie Farr
DS Brian Torrey - Patrick Robinson
Insp. Phillips - David Thome
Mags Langan - Alison Pettit
Raymond/Andrew - Tom George
Elizabeth/Receptionist - Jennifer Hill
Fr. Raphoe - Des McAleer

Directed by Tanya Nash

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19-23 April 2004

Fragments of Amy
Sue Manson - Susan Lynch
Insp. Phillips - Ron Cook
Mags Langan - Gillian Kearney
Plummer - Eddie Marsan
Leila Muggeridge - Alexander Mathie
Researcher/Telfor/Priest - Roger May
DS Brian Torrey - Rhashan Stone
Amy/Angela - Fuschia Sumner
Noreen Manson - Frances Tomelty
Dr Fred Johnson - David Warner

Produced by Lawrence Jackson

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23-27 October 2006

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