Cantankerous and dishevelled, Chief Inspector Dover is no one's idea of a model detective - but he does have an uncanny knack for solving crimes. In these radio dramas, set in the 1960s and '70s, he and his long-suffering sergeant, Charlie McGregor, investigate sinister cases of kidnap and murder. The first four are adapted from Joyce Porter's novels, while the latter two are original stories based on her characters.

Jazz-loving Policeman Charlie Resnick is one of the most popular characters in contemporary crime fiction. This thrilling collection brings together three dramatisations and two original radio stories starring the Nottingham-based detective, all scripted by his creator, award-winning author John Harvey.

Inspector Purbright is a thoroughly English policeman: affable, polite, dogged and decent. Created by award-winning crime writer Colin Watson, he appeared in 12 Flaxborough mysteries, four of which were adapted for BBC TV under the title Murder Most English. These five radio dramatisations star Peter Jeffrey, John Pullen and John Rowe as Purbright.

Glasgow’s finest are on the case in these thrilling radio adaptations, based on the books by Peter Turnbull. In the four-part serial Condition Purple, a murdered prostitute is found in the heart of Glasgow's prosperous business quarter. Could a tattoo on her body hold the key to finding her killer? In Two Way Cut, another four-parter, a headless body without a speck of blood on it has the cops puzzled - and who was the strange figure that PC Hamilton saw running along by the canal?

With his black hat, huge umbrella, unworldly simplicity and 'beaming but breathless geniality', Father Brown is one of fiction's best-loved amateur detectives. Short and tatty, but with the wisdom and insight to unravel the most wayward of criminal minds, he has entertained generations. In this collection of 13 full-cast dramatisations, the high priest of detection becomes involved in seven intriguing cases that will tax even his mental powers to the limit.

Each Roman Catholic parish compiles a Book of the Dead from the lists of departed loved ones submitted by parishioners. Printed on the front of the envelopes are three words: November Dead List. In this series, a young priest opens one such envelope and discovers not a list of the dead but a list of people he knows to be alive and members of his congregation. At first he thinks it's someone's idea of a joke. Then the people named start turning up dead.

Terminus finds her investigating the 'Lucky Charm' murders, as she searches for an elusive serial killer who haunts the railway station. In The Smithfield Murders, a grisly killing at London's famous meat market sparks another troubling investigation, while in The Net and the Canal, Enfield and her team look into a series of mysterious murders along Regent's Park Canal. Leaves of the Dead presents her with a trio of inexplicable deaths in the British Library - could they be ritual murders?

Widely regarded as the most engaging historical novels ever written, the 21 books in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series have garnered millions of fans since the publication of the first volume over 50 years ago. Included here are BBC radio adaptations of the first seven thrilling stories.

The Martin Beck books are widely acknowledged as some of the most influential detective novels ever written. Written by Swedish husband and wife team Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö between 1965 and 1975, the 10-book series set a gold standard for all subsequent Scandinavian crime fiction. Long before Kurt Wallander or Harry Hole, Beck was the original flawed policeman, working with a motley collection of colleagues to uncover the cruelty and injustice lurking beneath the surface of Sweden's liberal society.

Seventeen stories from the gritty crime series created by Danny Brocklehurst, starring Hugo Speer as Manchester detective John Stone. This collection brings together Series 1 to 4 of this intelligent detective drama, tackling morally ambiguous, complex and challenging subjects. DCI Stone and his team investigate a series of brutal murders and missing person cases, among other grisly crimes. Starring Hugo Speer as DCI John Stone, Craig Cheetham as DI Mike Tanner and Deborah McAndrew as DS Sue Kelly.

Locked down with his semi-detached wife, Frances, Charles has thrown himself into a new career as a handyman, becoming quite the DIY expert. He's developed muscles, stopped smoking and even cut back on the booze. Then his agent, Maurice, offers him the chance to get back on stage - and in a West End play, no less. The star, Justin Grover, asked for him specifically, but Charles has reservations. Grover was cocky enough when they were both young hopefuls; now, he's the star of a massive TV fantasy series, and the play - a verbatim piece set in a monastery - is dire.

1920s Stirling, and Chief Pathologist Dr Wallace is the town's acknowledged expert on all matters forensic. But he's not the only detective in the family - his daughter Barbara, a medical student, also has quite a talent for investigating. In these six one-off dramas, the two amateur sleuths join forces to tackle a string of tricky cases, each involving a suspicious death.

DS Dave Brook is a long-serving, ducking-and-diving police officer who takes armed robberies and violent crime in his stride. But then he is teamed up with young 'grammar school boy' DC Blair Maxton from sleepy Epsom. How will Max cope with the mean streets of his new patch? Among the thrilling cases in these four series, the detectives tackle an armed gang, confront a notorious crime family, search for a missing wife, investigate a gruesome ax murder and the death of a reclusive young woman, and assist ‘The Sweeney’ flying squad.

With his cape, canes and shovel hat, portly amateur sleuth Dr Gideon Fell cuts an eccentric figure - but his odd appearance belies his sharp intellect and astonishing faculty for deduction. Created by crime novelist John Dickson Carr and supposedly based on fellow author G. K. Chesterton, Dr Fell appeared in 23 novels between 1933 and 1967. This radio collection comprises all eight of the BBC adaptations based on Carr's best-selling books.

Timothy West takes on the role of Rumpole in this collection of cracking court cases, including Rumpole and the Teenage Werewolf, Rumpole and the Right to Privacy, Truth Makes All Things Plain, and The Past Catches Up with Us All....