What is it that makes us so fascinated by crime? Is it the motives behind the culprits' action, sympathy for the victims or the sneaky suspicion that if it wasn't for circumstance and sheer luck we could find ourselves embroiled in the sort of stories we regularly pour over?
The very best true crime podcasts have all of these elements as well as intriguing plotlines that prove the truth really is often stranger than fiction and characters that listeners strive to understand.
Some are dramatised versions of events, such as the excellent American Hostage starring Mad Men's Jon Hamm - the story of a man desperate to be heard who finds a radio journalist willing to listen. Some, like Stories of the Stalked, are audio documentaries, while others, such as Fake Heiress, are a blend of the two.
