Plot

Barnaby and Jones investigate a series of murders linked to the death of a beauty queen which occurred several years earlier.

Oak Apple Week is an autumn festival held every year in the picturesque village of Midsomer Barton. After the festival queen died tragically from food poisoning seven years earlier, that particular part of the celebration was discontinued. Shortly after the reinstitution of the contest, however, the dead girl's mother is found drowned in a shallow stream under suspicious circumstances. Barnaby and Jones are faced with many suspects, a plethora of unfaithful spouses, and more dead bodies.—Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)

Barnaby and Jones investigate the death of Marian Slade who is found face down in a stream just a short walk from the Midsomer Barton village fête. Oddly, Barnaby encounters a woman and her son who bear a striking resemblance to a pair who were murdered eight years before. They soon discover another body, that of Slade's neighbor, Mark Castle. Both victims had been mildly sedated with the same drug, leading to the conclusion that they were killed by the same person. The motive for the crime is related to the death of Slade's daughter Bella many years before and an abortion that everyone has kept secret all these years.—garykmcd