Midsomer Murders - My Favourite Episodes - Series Nine

Spoiler warning – there will be some spoilers here, so read on with caution if you have not seen all the episodes.

Series nine heralds another new sidekick for Baranby in the shape of PC (he becomes acting DC Jones so he can help Barnaby) Jones, played by Jason Hughes. His introductory episode, The House in the Woods, is my favourite of the series. 

The professional relationship between Jones and Barnaby starts more smoothly than that of Barnaby and Scott. Jones is a country copper who knows the people and area well. Jason made a favourable first impression on me. He plays Jones like he's part of the furniture. He's not as sharp as Barnaby, but he's no idiot either. 

For the first time, we are dealing with identical twins brought wonderfully to life by George Baker, who was best known for playing Inspector Wexford in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries. Here, he shows off his acting chops as the brothers are very different. 

We have two dead people before we've even had the title credits, which sets the story's pace well. Brotherly love, fear and power are the themes that Barnaby and Jones have to contend with as they try to work out who would want to kill two house hunters and an estate agent. 

They keep the 'twist' until reasonably close to the end. Even if you work out one bit of it, the motive for the killings is not revealed by this. 



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