This story opens at a local vineyard where their latest wine is to be unveiled; it doesn't go well
first the professional wine critic gives it a terrible review than a dozen guests suddenly collapse! Somebody has put slug pellets in some of the glasses; not enough to kill but enough to make people ill. It isn't long before there is a murder though; the wine taster is run over then taken to the winery and left to die. The obvious suspect is the winemaker whose business she damaged but there is another possibility; she had previously been a suspect in a hit and run accident several years before which killed a young girl. With the wine business in trouble the local hotelier approaches its owner with an offer to buy but this is rejected and soon he too is dead. Once again there is a possible link to the dead girl as he claimed his CCTV wasn't working when the drunken wine taster got into her car. While this is going on the son of the vineyard owner is planning to elope with sister of the dead girl and a group of local women are trying to have the vineyard shut down because they claim its activities are causing the pond to dry up.
Anybody hoping to guess the criminal will have a good chance here as there are many separate crimes committed by different people in this story rather than just a single offender. So at the end we have a murderer, a hit and run driver, a poisoner, a kidnapper and somebody trying to destroy another's business! When the truth is learnt it is more tragic than usual as victims hadn't actually done what the killer thought they had. As usual there is a fine cast of guest actors and the story goes along at a good pace with hints to who is guilty of what without making it too obvious. Away from the case some amusement is added by Barnaby's new nanny who is making him feel redundant at home and there is a potential romance between Nelson and a new WPC. Overall this was an enjoyable episode and a good conclusion to the current series.
Anybody hoping to guess the criminal will have a good chance here as there are many separate crimes committed by different people in this story rather than just a single offender. So at the end we have a murderer, a hit and run driver, a poisoner, a kidnapper and somebody trying to destroy another's business! When the truth is learnt it is more tragic than usual as victims hadn't actually done what the killer thought they had. As usual there is a fine cast of guest actors and the story goes along at a good pace with hints to who is guilty of what without making it too obvious. Away from the case some amusement is added by Barnaby's new nanny who is making him feel redundant at home and there is a potential romance between Nelson and a new WPC. Overall this was an enjoyable episode and a good conclusion to the current series.