Here’s another book that qualifies for RIP XIX!
As such a longtime fan of Midsomer Murders, I decided it was time to have another go at reading the books. I tried reading this one long ago, but I was so disappointed in the character of Sergeant Troy that I didn’t continue.
While Miss Simpson, an elderly ex-schoolteacher, is out in the woods looking for an orchid, she sees something she wishes she hadn’t. Later, she is found dead of an apparent heart attack. However, her friend Miss Bellringer goes to Inspector Barnaby because she thinks there are suspicious circumstances.
In investigating, Barnaby encounters a slew of colorful characters, all with secrets. There is Doctor Lessiter, who mishandled the death diagnosis, and his sexy wife Barbara as well as the doctor’s sulky teenage daughter Judy. There are the creepy Dennis Rainbird, an undertaker, and his mother. At the big house, Henry Trace, a wheelchair-bound middle-aged man, is preparing for his wedding to beautiful Katherine Lacey, 19 years old. This is a wedding not celebrated by either Trace’s sister-in-law, Phyllis Cadell, or Katherine’s artist brother Michael.
Barnaby begins turning up all kinds of secrets, and soon there’s another murder.
I’m so familiar with the TV show that it was hard to judge how difficult it would be to guess the solution. Sergeant Troy is hateful, but he didn’t bother me as much this time around. Warning that the text contains some homophobic comments, mostly from Troy.
I think Graham is a deft plotter and constructor of interesting characters. I note that the TV show chose to have the murder victims die in more spectacular ways than in the original novel.
What? Me Read? 
Knowing in advance that Troy is so horrible makes the books more readable. The first time I tried to read this I hated it because of how different his character was, but when I read it again recently knowing what to expect, I was able to appreciate the other stuff more. I think I still prefer the TV show though, but I’ll read another couple of the books and see if they grow on me.
That’s exactly how I felt about it!