The Coin of Dionysius

Is an old coin real - or a clever fake? An old friend, Louis Carlyle approaches suave sleuth Max Carrados for help. Read by Arthur Darvill ( who played companion Rory Williams to the 11th Doctor Who, Matt Smith).

What Louis doesn't know, is that due to an accident, Max is now blind. But that doesn't stop him from proving, in some style, just how formidable an amateur private detective he could become.

Max Carrados first featured in a series of mystery books in 1914. Carrados also shared top billing alongside Sherlock Holmes in 'The Strand Magazine". The character often boasts how much his blindness means his other senses are heightened.

Ernest Bramah excelled in his detailed writing and uncovering of clues. The beneficiary of a large inheritance from an American relative, Carrados is foremost a gentleman who undertakes sleuthing only as an avocation. Though equipped with a keen observer in the perfect manservant Parkinson, Carrados doesn't just sit around deducing. He makes his own observations with ears, nose and fingertips.

Abridged by Paul Kent.

Producer: Neil Gardner

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Ladbroke Radio Productions and first broadcast in 2011.