Small Mercies

Murders most twisted in Midsomer County
Midsomer Murders is a fine example of British cozy mysteries (inspired by the novels of Caroline Graham), without going over the top on the gore factor. Set in the bucolic English villages in Midsomer County, the murders that occur here(at an alarmingly high rate, one might add) are in stark contrast to the serene beauty of the English countryside. The murders can be grisly, but this is often offset by the scenic country setting, and the witty dialogue (FYI - Amazon Prime members are able to view Midsomer Murders' episodes Seasons 1-10 via instant download for free).

DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) leads a relatively contented life with his wife Joyce (Jane Wymark) and works for the Criminal Investigation Department. Assisted by his detective sergeant, the pair find themselves going all over the county investigating the strangest and at times grisliest murders in little hamlets with innocent sounding names. Tom is a meticulous investigator and an astute observer of human...

Enjoyable and Well Worth Watching!
Season 12 includes a wide variety of murderous events which must be solved by the intrepid team of Tom Barnaby, played by John Nettles, and Ben Jones, played by Jason Hughes. It is a worthy continuation of this fine series of British detective shows which have charmed so many.

Although I would expect those who are reading this to be familiar with the characters and the setting I will briefly summarize the key points about this series. The stories take place in the fictional county of Midsomer, England. The major city in the area is Causton where Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby has his office. Causton is surrounded by a series of around 56 smaller villages where most of the stories take place. The scenery is usually very lovely English villages and countryside which alone is of interest. Tom is married to a patient, and mostly understanding wife named Joyce, played by Jane Wymark, who is fascinated by the lovely villages surrounding Causton. Tom and Joyce have one...

Another excellent season of Midsomer!
I watch TV shows for their characters and decent storylines. Clearly, good acting is important to achieve both of those elements with any panache. As always, Midsomer Murders captures a charming and delightful approach to criminal investigation. Tom Barnaby IS the show, however, and with his departure in season 20 I realized I won't be continuing to buy every season as it comes out on DVD (pre-ordering in fact which I don't do for anything else!). Anyway, back to this season of Midsomer--while there is always an occasional episode that isn't stellar throughout the history of the show, there is never one that is less than enjoyable and if you've liked most of the seasons before this one, you won't be disappointed.

Midsomer has wonderful production values, amazingly well-known special guest stars, and has an elemental of humorous charm in the character of Inspector Tom Barnaby. One of the things I most like about all of the Midsomer seasons is that I can rewatch them and...

Click to Editorial Reviews