Death by Persuasion

An immediate murder of a young girl creates an early interest. Of course the Jane Austen theme full of period costumes make for a lovely English atmosphere. Beautiful sprawling green fields, traditional village homes, and grand estates help with that as usual. Sarah is working on a novel, but aren't we all? Drones aren't very pretty to look at, but they are part of life now, even Midsomer life. And Dr. Kam is still gone? Hmm... Her sub has the hots for Jamie, but we know where his heart is. It takes nearly an hour for the next murder, but it's worth the wait this time. The murder methods are unique and absurd, the classic Midsomer kind. Guests actors were good all around. Solid script, no complaints!

One of the better episodes since Neil Dudgeon took over as lead. It's great how the support cast that hides his wooden performance series after series. This episode does send up period dramas very well and, as if it were panto season, Barnaby puts on the regalia too. American audiences that think all Brits live in Downton Abbey and Pride And Prejudice will love it even.

Murder and mayhem looms large once again in that sleepy village and this time in a Jane Austin-era reenactment. It's a typical episode that has all the ingredients that you would expect in a MM series. Everyone is dressed up in period costumes, even our heroes, and it's fun all the way.

After a surprisingly long break 'Midsomer Murders' returned to ITV with an episode that appears to be set in Regency England. A woman in period dress walks away from a party at the local hall then we are brought back to the present as we see she is being observed by a sinister looking drone. Shortly afterwards she is murdered by an unseen assailant who stabbed her with a poisoned quill pen. Barnaby and Winter are soon on the scene; it turns out the owners of the hall were having a Jane Austen themed event. Of course not everybody approves, the head of the local Jane Austen Society believes they are getting all the details wrong. Not long afterwards they learn about the drone so investigate a local business that has been taking part in a trial to see if drones can be used to deliver medicines... again there are objections. As the investigation proceeds more possibilities arise; a possibly link to the hall being burnt down many years before and somebody starts blackmailing the owner of the hall.

This episode marks a welcome return for this long-running, slightly tongue in cheek, murder mystery series. The ideas involved are classic 'Midsomer Murders'; either the Jane Austen story or the drones might have sufficed on their own but together it works even better as the two ideas are so different. As is usually the case there are numerous suspects to keep the viewer guessing till the end... I guessed incorrectly but that didn't bother me when we got the final reveal. There is of course some sillines; the second murder, involving a drone, would have been almost impossible to execute in reality, drones often fly close to people without being heard and no comments are made about a shotgun that was fired at a party not being properly secured... this is all part of the charm of Midsomer though; it never really took place in the real world. Away from the case temporary pathologist Petra Antonescu takes an interest in Winters... given the number of Eastern Europeans living in the UK now it is good to see one featuring in a major series even if she may not be a recurring character. Overall I really enjoyed this; good fun Midsomer silliness.

This episode really took some pondering to rate. Innovative wild drone story that kept getting better, and better, until a rather disappointing ending. Anamaria Marinca as Petra AntonescuI's aggressiveness towards DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix) didn't work well. Kam is missed. Excellent having more involvement from lovely Sarah (Fiona Dolman). I enjoyed the drone angle even with the signature "Midsomer Murders" pushing the envelope of reality defying logic. Claire Skinner as Kitty Osgood was oddly enchanting giving a dynamic performance who seemed a bit unhinged. The perfect casting of the two off-center drone geeks invigorated the story wondering what these two oddballs really are up to with their seemingly everywhere drones. The ending though laid somewhat of an egg. Kitty's sister's involvement and motives left me asking, "This is it?". Though it was intriguing as Kitty came unglued to show how unhinged she really is behind all that cuteness. My rating is usually firm but this one I've gone back and forth multiple times.