A quaint English village is home to a murderer in the Macavity Award-wining mystery series debut that launched the British crime drama Midsomer Murders.Badger’s Drift is the ideal English village, complete with vicar, bumbling local doctor, and kindly spinster. But when the spinster dies suddenly, her best friend kicks up a fuss loud enough to attract the attention of Detective Chief Inspector … Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby. And when Barnaby and his eager-beaver deputy start poking around, they uncover a swamp of ugly scandals and long-suppressed resentments seething below the picture-postcard prettiness.
In the grand English tradition of the quietly intelligent copper, Barnaby has both an irresistibly dry sense of humor and a keen insight into what makes people tick. The Killings at Badger’s Drift marks Inspector Barnaby’s debut, and offers ample proof that Caroline Graham may indeed be “simply the best detective writer since Agatha Christie” (Sunday Times of London).
“Murder most pleasing . . . a corking good mystery.” —Los Angeles Times
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The Killings of Badger’s Drift Earns 5/5 Detective IDs…Engaging Original!
Caroline Graham is brilliant in creating one of the most iconic detectives since Colin Dexter’s Morse…DCI Thomas Barnaby. Despite Graham’s original vision of the popular detective being different from the casting of John Nettles, I am not concerned or disappointed. Reading this first book in the series becomes a new experience. The central murder investigation is what the first television episode of Midsomer Murders is based, and there are other similarities with characters, personalities, and relationships, but there is so much more. Graham’s use of descriptive language becomes a central element. The environment and character appearances come out from the peripheral white noise, some details are totally different, and background into secondary characters is explored making the reading experience complete and satisfying. It is so true that more can be done in a 265-page novel than in a 90-minute television show. The death of eighty-year-old Miss Emily, first considered natural causes by a questionably sober GP, is hard for her closest friend, Miss Lucy, to accept…too many inconsistencies in the events leading up to and including the discovery of the body along with a phone call indicating Miss Emily had seen something terribly disturbing as eluded to in the Prologue and a knock at the door in the background keeping her from sharing it. A postmortem is finally called for providing the shocking results…murder! Barnaby, with the same attention to detail, and Sergeant Troy, still with poor driving habits, follow the details of this crime bringing into question a past incident, provoking another unexpected discovery, and culminating in horrendous type of justice. The book is uniquely divided into four parts (Suspicion. Investigation. Repetition. Conclusion.), and even though I was aware of the crimes and ending I totally enjoyed it all. Must read for Midsomer Murder fans!
Inspector Barnaby from the PBS series. Fun to read and picture the characters from TV
I am a big fan of the Midsomer Murder Series and decided I need to read the books as well. I realize I am behind but watch this space.
The book, the first that set of the popular series, is definitely much better. This is understandable since a 90-minute program cannot put all the details in it, and you are left with gaps at times. The book filled and coloured it in beautifully. I must admit that a looked at the pilot program again and could clearly see the differences but still very enjoyable.
I am very impressed with the author’s writing skills as well. The story and character comes alive on the pages. The fast pace and easy flow make it a breeze and you read through it almost in one sitting. I can’t wait to read the rest.
This is truly a very good edition to add to your library.
Barnaby and Troy are realistic and even in the series, they are absolutely perfect for the rolls created by Caroline Graham. The setting, the plot and the interesting characters make this a classic that everyone can enjoy.
Just plain fun. A great English murder mystery to read on a rainy day – with crumpets and tea, of course. A little twisted, but that’s half the fun.