It’s April, 1992, in California. When three members of the Ewell family are found shot to death in their Fresno home, the news is met with shock. Fresno is a quiet community with low crime rates and good people. Veteran Detective John Souza, and his partner, Chris Curtice are assigned to the case. At first, it looks like a robbery gone wrong. But then details about one of the victims emerges. With a vast fortune to his name, there could be as many as eight million reasons why Dale Ewell and his family were gunned down…  

A Noiser production, written by Chris McDonald

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It’s January 1929 in Southampton, England. The body of missing businessman Vivian Messiter is found inside a locked garage. Local police call in one of Scotland Yard’s finest to take charge of the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector John Prothero. The ace detective uncovers vital clues missed by his colleagues, which lead him to the man he believes killed Messiter. But the conclusive evidence that can prove his case eludes him. Until a shaft of sunlight falls across a seemingly blank page.

A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris

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In July 1984 the body of an unidentified young woman is found in a Los Angeles parking lot. Veteran homicide detective John St John investigates. When a teenage girl goes missing a week later, St John believes the two cases are linked and that there’s a serial killer on the loose. As he learns more about the lives of the victims, he keeps coming back to one man who knew them both, a photographer called Bill Bradford. But can the detective they call Jigsaw John piece together the clues and prove his hunch?

A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris

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It’s December 2003, in Texas. When four gunshots ring out in the suburban city of Sugar Land, killing two members of the Whitaker family, and badly injuring two more, the news is met with disbelief in the community. Detective Marshall Slot takes the case. At first, the cops think that it’s simply a robbery gone wrong. But there are details that just don’t add up. Before long, Slot finds himself tangled up in one of the most bizarre and challenging investigations he’ll ever face. 

A Noiser production, written by Chris McDonald

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It’s 2008, in Budgeree, Australia. The kidnapping of Julian Buchwald and Carolynne Watson shocks the local community. After all, who would want to harm the devout Christian couple? That’s the question Victoria Police hope to answer. Faced with endless acres of unforgiving scrubland and no clues as to their whereabouts, locating the pair feels like an impossible task. The investigation takes an even more sinister turn when a letter arrives from a satanic cult associated with ritualistic sacrifice. The police face a race against the clock to locate the young lovers, before it’s too late.

A Noiser production, written by Chris McDonald

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This episode originally appeared on Short History Of… read by John Hopkins. If you like what you hear, search ‘Short History Of’ in your podcast app and hit follow or weekly episodes. Detectives Don’t sleep will be back next week. 

Retaining the title of the “Queen of Crime” to this day, Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. Across 66 novels, 14 short-story collections, and 20 stage plays, she depicted the evil lurking in the hearts of ordinary people. But how did this homeschooled daughter of a privileged English family learn so much about poisons, psychopaths and murder? What in her personal life informed such a suspicious view of ordinary people? And how did she trigger a real-life mystery in 1926 that saw the whole country turn amateur detective?

Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to best-selling crime writer Sophie Hannah.

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From 1925 to his death in 1926, the great escapologist and illusionist Harry Houdini conducts a tireless campaign against fake mediums. To help him, he has a small army of secret spirit investigators, led by the plucky female detective Rose Mackenberg. Working undercover in a range of disguises, Rose travels the continent on Houdini’s behalf, rooting out charlatans and helping Houdini to expose them. And when Houdini and Rose go to Washington to give evidence at a Congressional hearing, they come face to face with an angry mob of spiritualists determined to silence them.

A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris 

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In February 1925, Richard Reese Whittemore breaks out of Maryland State Penitentiary, killing a prison guard in the process. So begins a year-long violent crime spree as Whittemore’s gang carry out a series of daring heists. Despite his love of violence, Whittemore’s exploits capture the public’s imagination. He’s the Candy Kid. His wife Margaret is Tiger Girl. Together they’re America’s sweethearts. But one man isn’t buying the myth. Inspector John D. Coughlin of New York’s Detective Division sees the Candy Kid for what he is - a ruthless killer. And he’s determined to catch him. 

A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris 

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It’s 2014, and we’re in Mexico. Twenty-year-old Karen Rodriguez is on her way to meet some friends when she is kidnapped by cartel members. The abductors send a ransom demand to her terrified family, which they pay straight away. However, Karen is never returned. Her mother, Miriam, might not have a police badge or a private eye license, but when the police refuse to help, she takes the law into her own hands. Armed with a gun, an array of disguises, and an unquenchable thirst for justice, Miriam will come up against some of the most ruthless men in the country. But what can one woman really stand up to the cartels and win? 

A Noiser production, written by Chris McDonald

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In June 1986, Sue Snow, a healthy, forty-year-old woman, is found unresponsive in the bathroom of her home in Auburn, Washington. She is rushed to hospital where she dies a short time later. During the autopsy, the pathologist notices a strange smell - the smell of almonds. It’s a scent she knows well. It seems Sue Snow died from ingesting Excedrin tablets laced with cyanide. Aurora Police Detective Mike Dunbar and FBI Special Agent Jack Cusack take the case. Sue's death echoes the 1982 Tylenol poisonings in Chicago. Could they be dealing with a copycat killer? Over the course of the investigation, a pharmaceutical company will lose millions of dollars and the state of Washington will be plunged into panic at the prospect of a killer walking among them. But will one of the biggest manhunts the state has ever seen help unmask the perpetrator? Or will the killer claim more victims before their reign of terror is over?

A Noiser production, written by Chris McDonald 

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In May 1937, the citizens of Paris are horrified by the murder of a young woman on the Métro. The case is a classic locked room mystery, with an added twist. The locked room is a first-class car on an underground train. To Inspector Moreux of the Judicial Police, Laetitia Toureaux’s murder has all the hallmarks of a professional hit. But as he investigates the mystery of her death, he finds he must first solve the riddle of her life. Just who was Laetitia Toureaux and why did she have to die? 

A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris. 

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