Midsomer Murders

Set in a poisonous Midsomer golf club named Whiteoaks, the story revolves around the social aspirations the club steward has for her handsome son Darren and her determination that he shall overcome his lowly birth to become a full member. A moneylender and a miser, she wields unexpected powers behind the clubhouse bar.

Henry Hodgson is the Constable of Midsomer whose landscapes have become the focus of attention from art collectors all over the world. But some of the Hodgsons now in circulation are not quite what they seem and details of their true provenance are contained in a secret Black Book - for possession of which there are those prepared to murder in order to protect their investments.

A family of retired spooks runs a safe house in a Midsomer village to which the security services send a visiting VIP for protection. But local folklore about The Beast of Midsomer, a big cat that is reputed to have torn out the throats of innocent locals in the past, proves to be more than a legend as the Beast strikes again.

A maverick scientist has discovered a fatal flaw in prevailing electromagnetic theory and hence in the binary system. His theories are denounced by his peers in Christchurch College Oxford, and by the businessman who has funded research and development of a new system for controlling air traffic over the world.

Set in a pretty village whose economy has long depended on the tourist trade, and in particular on the attractions of its model village and the annual raft race on the river. But times are tough and the village is in decline even before the first victim is found peffed and bound like Gulliver in the middle of the model village.

The time-honoured craft of the cat burglar sees a revival in Midsomer County and when a state-of-the-art security system in the Chief Constable's own house is effortlessly breached, the pressure is on for Barnaby to catch this highly skilled and agile housebreaker. But when a body is found at the scene of a break-in does it mean that the Creeper has raised his game?

The local village school is threatened with closure due to falling numbers of children, and a group of "ladies who lunch" compete murderously for the status of charitable saviours. As murder and mayhem engulf the embattled school teacher she is rescued by the love of Barnaby's prime suspect - until his innocence is proved and love conquers all.