User Reviews

One of the most unusual Midsomer episodes given the fact that although the main plot has quite often something to do with a certain event in the past, this time it effectively triggers all the murders after some eight years without much warning. What ignites all the drama is the return of the annual Festival Queen award which was originally abandoned after the death of Bella Slade, the incumbent holder at the time.

The real circumstances of Bella Slade's death are not revealed until very late in the episode. Originally it is thought she'd died because of food poisoning complications, yet Ursula Godding is aware of Bella's death at childbirth. After that is's revealed that Bella actually died during an abortion done by Dr. Wellow who - along with Bella's mother Marion is the only person aware of the actual happenings. Marion Slade dies at the beginning of the episode leaving Dr. Wellow alone with his mystery and even when Barnaby begins to think Bella's death might be pivotal in solving the case, he doesn't crack whatsoever and only gives away a small part about being involved in a love affair with Marion.

There are no flashbacks upon Dr. Wellow, he doesn't seem to be bothered about Marion's death even when Barnaby tells him about suspected murder. Usually the Midsomer victims are seen in a jeopardy, sensing something's in the air, yet Dr. Wellow keeps his nerves. Either he isn't aware of Bella's child father's identity or doesn't think this has something to do with it at all. He does mention a plan to leave the town, but when the killer visits him at night, he isn't concerned whatsoever which leads to the fact, he doesn't know that Robert Pride is the father of Bella's child and the man behind both previous murders.

Barnaby hooks up with Bella's pregnancy only when he finds letters written to her by an anonymous person, quite obviously baby's father and gets the ultimate stranglehold on the case when Dr. Wellow's secret admirer April Gooding turns up as a witness of Pride's late night visit.

This is a strange episode because the clues are given out moderately and Barnaby chases the motive right until the end rather then adding up all the clues and methodically spotting the killer. He only senses the importance of Bella's death, but can't get a firm hold on the case. In fact the plot speeds up dramatically towards the end when Pride decides to interfere with the annual festival parade and threatens the new Queen with a knife which would have blown his cover anyway, regardless of April Gooding's confession that has handed Barnaby the case on the silver plate.

The death of Mark Castle is somewhat a forced issue in the plot and could have really been omitted.

One mention goes to the characters of Ursula & Alistair Gooding which are family relatives to a similar mother-son duo from the very first Midsomer episode "The Killing's At Badger's Drift". Elizabeth Spriggs and Richard Cant play the characters in both episodes.

More trivia comes from the last scene when Alistair Gooding is seen in his library. On the shelf you can see books of Jezebell Tripp and Ellis Bell both which appear as characters in previous episodes ("Sins of Commission" and "The Tale of Two Hamlets" respectively).

This was one of my favorite episodes though it could have benefited with more funny banter between Joyce & Tom-- it's always so cute when they bicker or make fun of each other. Instead Joyce is mainly seen in passing, listening to a local piano teacher teach her about the history of the Apple Oak festival. I agree also with the other reviewer that the character of the ladies' man Dr. was miscast. It was so odd seeing him in that first intimate scene with his shirt off---he was very old and overweight! Anyhow, I enjoyed the way the red herrings were thrown out here, especially in that last scene at the parade. First it seemed Tom was chasing what's his name in the shiny jacket, then it seemed he was after Alistair, until finally the real culprit was caught red handed! Had me surprised! I was lead astray when Alistair had his photo taken with festival Queen. I thought it was a clue to the photo that had been stolen from Bella's mom, however, that detail was explained away in passing. And the final details about how Bella really died and even whose baby she carried caught me unprepared, which is what makes this show so fun to watch! And for me, the motive for the murders actually fit in with the entire build up of the main story. And Jones fits in so well with the cast and tone of the film. He seems more serious and intelligent than the previous Sgts. Oddly, Sgt Scott is not mentioned at all. It's as if he called in sick and mysteriously fell off the face of the Earth....

Midsomer Murders: Dead Letters is set in the small village of Midsomer Barton & starts as three young local children find the body of Marion Slade (Claire Askam) face down in a stream, DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) & DC Ben Jones (Jason Hughes) investigate. Barnaby quickly discovers that Marion lived alone & her 16 year daughter Bella died 8 years ago & she has been on medication ever since, Marion's death at first glance appears to be a suicide. Then local farmer & drunk Mark Castle (Paul Ireland) is found in Barton Woods with his throat slashed, this one is definitely murder. With lies, secrets, affairs & hatred running through Midsomer Barton it's another tough double murder for Barnaby to solve which soon becomes a triple murder as the village doctor (Simon Callow) also turns up dead...

Episode 2 from season 9 this Midsomer Murders mystery was directed by Renny Rye & is a good solid whodunit that is watchable but I thought lacked a little something overall. The script by Peter Hammond starts off with a dead body being found before the opening credits start which gets the episode going straight away, unlike episodes like They Seek Him Here (2007) from season ten which take literally ages to get going. However the episode does plod along without much focus, Barnaby investigates the death of Marion's daughter & seemingly not much else before the next body turns up. The red herrings aren't as clever as they should be & not enough people 'could' have done it or indeed have any sort of reason or motive for murder at all. I mean take the local slut landlady who was having affairs with half the village, the entire subplot goes nowhere & has nothing to do with the murders anyway & is completely forgotten about the end. Like many Midsomer Murders episodes the motives for murder in the present are dark tragic events from the distant past, in this case the death of a woman & child. Dead Letters is also unusual because Barnaby has the case solved for him in the sense a witness comes forward & identifies the killer, I say it's unusual because Barnaby is always the one who figures it out & pieces the clues together while here the killer is handed to him on a plate & he doesn't actually have to do anything. There is also one huge aspect of Dead Letters which makes it unique in Midsomer Murders history in that the character's of mother & son Iris & Dennis Rainbird from the very first episode of Midsomer Murders The Killings at Badger's Drift (1997) are replicated here in the shape of Ursula & Alistair Gooding & they look exactly the same since they are actually played by the same actors. As it turns out Ursula & Iris were sisters (more like identical twins) but this nod towards previous character's is almost unheard of in Midsomer Murders & it did feel like the episode went into parody at times & all self referential which I found odd & didn't necessarily like. Dead Letters is also one of the few if not the only episode not to feature any scenes with Barnaby at home.

There are three murders in Dead Letters, one drowning, a slashed throat & a stabbing with the slashed throat being the most graphic. This episode feels very English with it's small village setting which is in the middle of an Oak Apple Week carnival fête complete with such attractions as the 'scruffiest dog competition' & the rather amusingly titled 'A "Midsomer" Nights Dream' play! The scenery is nice to look at as usual with it being filmed in & around Buckinghamshire. The acting is also very good from all involved.

Dead Letters is a good Midsomer Murders episode but it's a little forgettable, the plot is alright, the murders are alight, the setting is alright & as a whole it's just alright. Nothing really stands out as being amazing & those two recurring character's & actors just felt odd & I know they are meant to be different people but it's clear what the intention of the makers was otherwise they would have cast different actors in the role.

This was another solid episode of Midsomer Murders. An interesting bit of trivia for fans, the April Gooding character played by actress Sophie Thompson played "Abigail" in the "Master Blackmailer" episode of The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, which I'm also watching. The thing I'm confused about is the characters played by Elizabeth Spriggs and Richard Cant. They played Iris and Dennis Rainbird in the first episode of Midsomer Murders "The Killing at Badger's Drift." In this episode they play Ursula and Alistair Gooding, relatives of the previous characters who just happen to look identical to them. What was the purpose of doing this I wonder? At first I thought they were building this up to some incredible conclusion. Two murder victims from the first episode happen to have identical looking relatives that live in another part of Midsomer? And there is an unsavory relationship between the mother and son, not to mention that the son is a pedophile. Also, the Ursula character has a habit of spying on her neighbors with a binocular just like her departed identical sister Iris. What's going on here? I was starting to think there was going to be some supernatural explanation. Then the story ends and nothing further comes of this. Why was this thrown into the story? It had no real purpose and added nothing really. The story would have been served by using any two stock characters for this part. What was the reason for using the same actors to play identical looking relatives? My only explanation is maybe they were trying to show that in Midsomer, evil is eternal, evil is an unbroken bloodline, evil never dies only regenerates in new forms? Too philosophical?

The ninth season started off great with "The House in the Woods", but "Dead Letters" continues this season on a decent note. It's not as near as good as the previous entry, though it is still watchable.

Let's start with the good aspects, shall we?

. The production values of this episode are great as always. The direction's good and the music adds to the scenery. The acting is pretty good all around. Tom Bennett's good, though his screen time is limited, so is Richard Cant, Elizabeth Spriggs is wonderful. Simon Callow though does not fit the role at all and comes off bizarre at best.

. The story has its moments. The solution (Rob is the killer) is differently handled as usual and the murders are brutal.

But...

. The subplots in this story are not as near as good as the mainplot. The child entertainer and the barmaid subplots did not build into anything of merrit, which was very disappointing.

. Parts of the solution feel undercooked. The motive for the second murder, which felt unnecessary, was just weak

Overall, a decent episode.

6/10 HK.

He fits right in, is smart and likeable (more so than Scott, imo). But the story? Bizarre and pointless trotting out of Iris and Dennis Rainbird from Killings at Badgers Drift, as Iris's sister Ursula and her son Alastair, who is even creepier than his cousin Dennis - worse, and goes unpunished. All too common in real life, but who wants that transferred to Midsomer? And Simon Callow, as blanche-2 pointed out years ago, was wildly miscast as the village Lothario, even more than his earlier outing as an academic version in the Morse episode The Wolvercote Tongue. The story dragged, too - yet another festival, not even a nod at what the real Oak Apple Day is (Restoration Day, 29 May), too much faffing around, belated revenge from someone whose own actions caused the first death anyway. The most entertaining thing was placing all the familiar faces from other shows, mostly Foyle's War. I'd give this one a miss, tbh.

They went too far this time constantly pushing the creepiest plot festival themes. Somewhat heavy on the violence and hallucinogens.

Return of Badgers Drift cast was excellent twist. interesting if they would have put the two episodes next to each other. Ladies man miscast weakened the story. Jason Hughes is terrific working with John Nettles. Look for a great Joyce scene talking to Jones mid story at the festival. No Cully still.

Solid writing and ending if you get past the weirdness. Disappointing , but watchable. Vito S 12/7/19