For many, the words “the first in a new murder mystery series from Jeremy Vine” will feel more like a threat than a promise. Ever since Richard Osman’s monster hit The Thursday Murder Club five years ago, there has been a barrage of crime novels written by British broadcasters — Robert Peston (ITV), Richard Madeley (ITV), Stig Abell (Times Radio), Richard Coles (Radio 4), to name but a few. Yet Vine (Radio 2, Channel 5) can be forgiven for jumping on the bandwagon. In a niche but growing sub-genre, his small-town whodunnit, Murder on Line One, is one of the better offerings.
