Publisher's Synopsis
A collection of ten episodes of the popular drama series starring John Nettles as Inspector Barnaby. In 'The Killings at Badger's Drift', Barnaby reluctantly becomes involved in an investigation of well-liked spinster Emily Simpson when her body is found in the nearby woods. Emily's friend Lucy Bellringer is convinced that it is a case of murder, and Barnaby discovers various scandals and intrigues in the local, deceptively tranquil village of Badger's Drift. In 'Written in Blood', Barnaby is called in after Midsomer Worthy's writing circle secretary, Gerald Hadleigh, is found battered to death. Investigations reveal that Gerald was a man without a past; he had no national insurance number, no family, and no marriage certificate, despite the wedding photographs that adorned the walls of his home. The case becomes still more puzzling when another dead body is found. In 'Death of a Hollow Man', Barnaby and Sergeant Troy (Daniel Casey) investigate the murder of local resident Agnes Gray - whose body is discovered floating in the river. However, they become distracted by strange goings-on at the Corn Exchange theatre. Could there be a link between the forthcoming production of 'Amadeus' and Agnes' death? In 'Faithful Unto Death', Inspector Barnaby is presented with another perplexing case. The residents of Morton Fendle are less than happy with the proposed redevelopment of the Old Mill, believing that they have already been tricked out of a large amount of money. The subsequent disappearance of the mill owner's wife leads Barnaby and Troy to suspect kidnapping - with a wide array of suspects readily available. In 'Death in Disguise', Inspector Barnaby and Sergeant Troy are called to the communal Lodge of the Golden Windhorse when a man is found dead at the bottom of the stairs with a broken neck. Any doubts Barnaby has as to whether the death was an accident or not are removed when another killing occurs a few days later. In 'Death's Shadow', old wounds are re-opened when theatrical director Simon Fletcher returns to his home town of Badger's Drift for his latest production, and soon after his arrival an old schoolfriend, property developer Richard Bayly, is found decapitated. For Barnaby, the killing is too close to home; the local vicar (Richard Briers) is the man in charge of his forthcoming marriage vows renewal ceremony, while his daughter is in the cast of Fletcher's play. In 'Strangler's Wood', Barnaby and Troy are called in when the body of a young Brazilian woman is found strangled in Raven's Wood. Could she possibly be Carla Constanza, the public face of the 'Carla' cigarettes in which Midsomer Worthy's Monarch Tobacco has a significant stake? In 'Dead Man's Eleven', Barnaby and Troy are called in when the wife of unpopular local businessman Robert Cavendish is found murdered. While everyone from Cavendish's son to his former business partner would have good motive to bump him off, it seems that Mrs Cavendish had no such enemies. Could her death have been an accident, and is Cavendish's life now in danger? In 'Blood Will Out', a simple case of keeping the peace in the village of Martyr Warren becomes a murder investigation when Falklands veteran Major Hector Bridges - who had been protesting at the arrival of rival gypsy clans in the village - is shot dead during a pony chariot race. Convinced that Bridges' death is linked to one of the visiting travellers, Barnaby begins probing the secrets of the dead man's past. Finally, in 'Death of a Stranger', shortly after returning from his holidays, Barnaby learns that his short-sighted colleague Pringle has arrested local petty juvenile Billy Gurdie for the murder of a tramp during the Upper Marshwood Hunt. Unconvinced of Billy's guilt, Barnaby's suspicions are reinforced when first Billy's father, then Pringle himself are also done away with.
