Behind the Crimes with Robert Murphy | Podcast Guru

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### WINNER 'Outstanding Indie Podcast at the True Crime Awards 2024. ### What makes a criminal? What makes a truly great detective? Award-winning TV crime correspondent Robert Murphy speaks with people involved with some of the most fascinating true crime cases of recent years: detectives, victims, experts and sometimes even the criminals themselves. What drives a person to ignore the morals, laws and conventions of normal society and pushes them to perform the darkest acts? Sex? Money? Revenge? Love? Humiliation? Are criminals born bad or are they a creation of their circumstances? How can detectives catch people who are intent on causing truly dreadful harm to others? What happens when that criminal has done a brilliant job covering their tracks? This podcast and newsletter explores some of our biggest crime stories - and some of the lesser-known, compelling cases which deserve a better understanding. For video interviews, evidence from each case, articles and more, go to https://robertmurphy.substack.com/about

robertmurphy.substack.com

Recent Episodes

Simon McCleave: From screenplays to the Snowdonia Killings

AUG 5, 2025

Simon McCleave: From screenplays to the Snowdonia Killings

<p>Subscribe for FREE: robertmurphy.substack.com</p><p>The creator of The Snowdonia Killings talks true crime, pivoting from screenplays to novels (via teaching) and how his own publishing company has proved far more lucrative than being traditionally published.</p><p>When, in 2020, Simon couldn’t get an agent or a publisher, he decided to self-publish his first novel, expecting just a few friends to buy it.</p><p>But soon it was soaring up the Amazon charts.</p><p>The Snowdonia Killings, with its lead character of Det Insp Ruth Hunter, seemed to touch a nerve with fans of crime fiction.</p><p>Since then, Simon has written more than THIRTY books and has sold millions of copies.</p><p>Simon’s books are fantastic reads, with great characters, evocative settings and terrific twists.</p><p>You can find out more (and claim a free book) here: </p><p>https://www.simonmccleave.com</p><p>To WATCH this interview - click here: https://open.substack.com/pub/robertmurphy/p/simon-mccleave-the-screenwriter-turned?r=1lsdh7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://robertmurphy.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">robertmurphy.substack.com</a>

38 MIN

Mark Gatiss: The True Crime of the Bookish era

JUL 22, 2025

Mark Gatiss: The True Crime of the Bookish era

<p>Mark Gatiss’s new crime drama is set in 1946 London: a city recovering from the Blitz, when gangs ran wild and gun crime was rife.</p><p>Bookish is inspired by both true crimes and the Golden Age of Detective Fiction which preceded the Second World War.</p><p>But what were the true crimes of this period?</p><p>And how does Mark, who works across so many genres (comedy, horror, sci-fi, action, period-drama) and platforms (TV, books, theatre, film) create a show which resonates? Bookish is already posting big audience numbers on U&Alibi in the UK.</p><p>You may know Mark from The League of Gentlemen, Sherlock, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Dracula - and MANY other shows.</p><p>But what is it that brings him back to crime?</p><p>To watch this interview, click here: </p><p>https://open.substack.com/pub/robertmurphy/p/sherlocks-mark-gatiss-true-crime?r=1lsdh7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://robertmurphy.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">robertmurphy.substack.com</a>

30 MIN

The true crimes which inspired The Golden Age of Murder

JUL 8, 2025

The true crimes which inspired The Golden Age of Murder

<p>The Detection Club, established in 1930, is the world’s first social network for crime writers. </p><p>It’s founder fathers and mothers included Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers and Anthony Berkeley.</p><p>Its current membership includes Ian Rankin, Val McDermid and Richard Osman.</p><p>The current (and only the eighth) President, Martin Edwards, has released an updated edition of his book ‘The Golden Age of Murder’ in which he talks about the true cases which inspired the literary greats of the Inter-War years.</p><p>And he describes how many of our classic crime novels riff around the subject of a ‘justified murder.’</p><p>To WATCH this interview, click here: https://open.substack.com/pub/robertmurphy/p/video-interview-martin-edwards-president?r=1lsdh7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true</p><p>More about <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/13401768-martin-edwards">Martin Edwards</a> : https://martinedwardsbooks.com/ and https://substack.com/@martinedwardsbooks/</p><p>This podcast mentions an earlier episode about the Thompson-Bywaters with <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/148505089-laura-thompson">laura thompson</a> case. You can hear that here: </p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://robertmurphy.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">robertmurphy.substack.com</a>

36 MIN

John Le Carré - taking on the spymaster's Smiley series: Nick Harkaway

JUN 10, 2025

John Le Carré - taking on the spymaster's Smiley series: Nick Harkaway

<p>How do you take on one of the biggest literature legacies of the past half-century? That’s what Nick Harkaway was asked to do after his father, David Cornwell (aka John Le Carré) died in 2020.</p><p>Karla’s Choice, Nick’s latest in the George Smiley world puts us in a sinister world of subterfuge, Hungarian agents and 1960s London.</p><p>In this interview, Nick tells us how he approached the writing of Karla’s Choice, what he learned from his father - and what he had to learn on-the-job, and how he balances writing in the Le Carré world with his own books.</p><p>You can get Karla’s Choice here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Karlas-Choice-John-Carr%C3%A9-Novel-ebook/dp/B0CZPPHPCR?ref_=ast_author_mpb</p><p>PLUS: My book ‘Decoy’ won ‘Book of the Year’ at the True Crime awards in London last week. Judges praised the quality of the writing, the high-end research and journalism and the issues raised.</p><p>You can grab a copy here: </p><p>UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Decoy-secretive-historical-undercover-operations/dp/0008666814/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0</p><p>USA: https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Decoy/dp/B0CS6XNB54?ref_=ast_author_dp</p><p>Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Decoy-secretive-historical-undercover-operations-ebook/dp/B0CLTGQDQJ?ref_=ast_author_dp</p><p>Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Decoy-secretive-historical-undercover-operations-ebook/dp/B0CLTGQDQJ?ref_=ast_author_dp</p><p></p><p>Want to watch this interview? Check it out here: https://robertmurphy.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/165538997/share-center</p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://robertmurphy.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">robertmurphy.substack.com</a>

36 MIN

Lee Child: Jack Reacher, my true crime inspiration, my writing craft and why I've left America

MAY 27, 2025

Lee Child: Jack Reacher, my true crime inspiration, my writing craft and why I've left America

<p># Subscribe for free: robertmurphy.substack.com #</p><p>Recorded at CrimeFest in Bristol, England, May 2025</p><p>Lee Child on how his TV career helped him write, his favourite authors, how he ‘writes the fast stuff slow and the slow stuff fast’ and handing the Jack Reacher baton to his brother Andrew.</p><p>Links mentioned in the show:</p><p>https://www.jackreacher.com/us/</p><p>https://www.crimefest.com/</p><p>Decoy book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Decoy-secretive-historical-undercover-operations/dp/0008666814/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0</p><p>To Hunt A Killer: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hunt-Killer-gripping-Longlisted-non-fiction/dp/0008507473/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0</p><p>Want to watch the interview? Paste this into your browser: https://robertmurphy.substack.com/p/lee-child-talks-reacher-his-craft</p><p></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://robertmurphy.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">robertmurphy.substack.com</a>

37 MIN