I just learned that there was a year gap between the first episode of this series and the second, which is "Written in Blood." This episode begins with a young boy named Liam shooting and killing his father. This took place in Ireland in 1955.
Cut to the present day, and the Midsomer Worthy Writer's Circle is discussing whom they should invite to speak at their next meeting. Someone suggests Max Jennings (John Shrapnel), who has written a best-seller.
The chairman of the Circle, Gerald Hadleigh (Robert Swann) is vehemently opposed to this, but he's outvoted. When Jennings gets the invitation, he isn't interested until he notices that Hadleigh is a member of the group. He decides to speak.
On the night of the meeting, Gerald takes his friend Amy (Joanna David) aside and begs her to make sure that he and Jennings aren't left alone. Amy actually leaves that evening with Jennings and her sister-in-law Honoria (Anna Massey), but then he says he forgot his gloves and has to return. Amy wants to return with him, but the domineering Honoria won't allow it, insisting that they leave.
The next day, Hadleigh is found naked and dead, beaten with a candlestick. DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) and Sgt. Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey) take over, but they are frustrated by the lack of knowledge anyone seems to have about Hadleigh. They believe that Jennings can give them the answers they need. He is finally located, but he's dead, too, from poisoning.
Like many if not all Midsomer Murders, the solution to the murders can be found in the past and its influence on present events. In this case, the solutions to the murders are not the same, which make them all the more interesting.
Excellent, with Cully's kitten making Barnaby sneeze throughout the episode.
Cut to the present day, and the Midsomer Worthy Writer's Circle is discussing whom they should invite to speak at their next meeting. Someone suggests Max Jennings (John Shrapnel), who has written a best-seller.
The chairman of the Circle, Gerald Hadleigh (Robert Swann) is vehemently opposed to this, but he's outvoted. When Jennings gets the invitation, he isn't interested until he notices that Hadleigh is a member of the group. He decides to speak.
On the night of the meeting, Gerald takes his friend Amy (Joanna David) aside and begs her to make sure that he and Jennings aren't left alone. Amy actually leaves that evening with Jennings and her sister-in-law Honoria (Anna Massey), but then he says he forgot his gloves and has to return. Amy wants to return with him, but the domineering Honoria won't allow it, insisting that they leave.
The next day, Hadleigh is found naked and dead, beaten with a candlestick. DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) and Sgt. Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey) take over, but they are frustrated by the lack of knowledge anyone seems to have about Hadleigh. They believe that Jennings can give them the answers they need. He is finally located, but he's dead, too, from poisoning.
Like many if not all Midsomer Murders, the solution to the murders can be found in the past and its influence on present events. In this case, the solutions to the murders are not the same, which make them all the more interesting.
Excellent, with Cully's kitten making Barnaby sneeze throughout the episode.