You can’t enjoy a witty and mildly gruesome British mystery show without devouring “Midsomer Murder.” There’s something like 116 episodes. DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) retired for goodness sake. But, I like the cousin who took over, DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) and his investigation team, especially since Dudgeon was in an episode. The cheekiness of it all.
Since it’s a juggernaut of a show, I was curious about “Midsomer Murders” fan fiction. So far, I’ve found a book about the locations of fictional villages where the series was shot, which is adorbs. It’s “[a] guide to the Midsomer counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire.”
Wikipedia describes Midsomer Murders as:
“Based on the crime-novel series by author Caroline Graham, `Midsomer Murders' follows the efforts of Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby to solve crimes that occur in the wealthy, isolated English county of Midsomer, a picturesque and peaceful place on the outside but one filled with amoral and snobbish eccentrics with all kinds of vices. His latest assistant is Detective Sergeant Jamie Winter. DCI Barnaby took over in series 14, replacing his older cousin, Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, who retired.”
(Oh, Midsomer is a county! It’s a mighty big county for little old England.)
That Wiki description cracks me up. Picturesque villages “filled with amoral and snobbish eccentrics” that think nothing of using a Saxon axe to split their neighbor’s head open. That’s my kind of murder. Thank you mystery book author Caroline Graham for your enduring, lovable and witty characters.