Midsomer Murders – The Miniature Murders

It’s a small world in this week’s Midsomer as we find ourselves surrounded by dollhouses and children’s parties. But don’t let that put you off – ‘The Miniature Murders’ is a really good instalment (albeit one let down by some minor annoyances).

   At a local museum, the womanising estate agent Alexander Beauvoisin (Roger Barclay) is shot dead as he delivers a speech about his latest donation – a collection of dollhouses. Barnaby and Winter investigate, and discover that he was not a popular man. He was divorcing his wife Fiona (Clare Holman) and living with his new squeeze Holly Ackroyd (Joanna Page), and local storage lot owner Samuel Wokoma (Karl Collins) held him responsible for the death of his daughter Lara in one of his properties. A building owned by Alexander was the centre of a dispute between childcare experts Jemima Starling (Katy Brand) and Carys Nicholson (Rosalie Craig), and he was seen having a row with dollhouse maker Maxine Dobson (Eleanor Bron). But are any of these factors enough to lead to murder? The detectives must pick through the motives to find Alexander’s killer.

   There was a lot to love in ‘The Miniature Murders’, down to a strong script by Helen Jenkins (whose Midsomer track record I have a mixed relationship with), which packs in a lot but never feels cluttered or cheating. Barnaby’s method of figuring out who the killer is is exactly the kind of detection that works well for the viewer and feels fair – this is what we need more of. Add this to Evan Jolly’s great score (which really nails that music-box feel in points) and Toby Frow’s assured direction, and this is a treat to watch. Only in Midsomer could bubbles and a children’s play centre bring about the same dread as a slasher film.

There was a lot to love in ‘The Miniature Murders’… which packs in a lot but never feels cluttered or cheating

   Add a strong guest cast to this, and you’ve a strong recipe for success. Holman gives a good performance as a spurned wife, and Brand is hammy but not overly so as a jealous entertainer. There wasn’t a weak performance across the board, although there were certainly some actors who got a lot more to do – some of the younger actors, such as Rohan Nedd (as the younger Wokoma) and Ami Okamura Jone (as a student politician and friend of the Wokomas) are most underserved by a script that gives them little to do.

   Several recurring elements in ‘The Miniature Murders’ are very good. I’m loving that the Barnaby-Winter partnership has developed character as old man-young man, and this episode also gives a lot more time to Annette Badland as Fleur, building her character in a way that no previous pathologist (save George Bullard) has been allowed. She’s been one of the best new additions to the show, and I hope she sticks about. I do also want to note the show paying homage to its history – the Beauvoisin name has appeared numerous times and dates back to a 1999 episode called ‘Death’s Shadow’, something I’m enough of a Midsomer anorak to have known and appreciated.

She’s been one of the best new additions to the show, and I hope she sticks about

   There were some aspects of ‘The Miniature Murders’ that didn’t work as well as hoped. Given the importance assigned to Lara’s death throughout the episode, it’s somewhat of a baffling choice to have it forgotten about near the end. Unless I missed it, there was no resolution whatsoever to her part of the story, which was a little frustrating. And, much though I loved seeing more of Badland, the set-up of Fleur’s friendship with the Wokoma family didn’t work for me. She’s their best friend because she once employed them to help her move house, and to keep something in a storage locker? It seemed a bit of a ham-fisted (if not unwelcome) way to bring Fleur into the story more. And we once again have the issue of mood whiplash – we immediately cut from a poignant conclusion to a last-minute comedic scene, and it does feel very jarring.

   I thought that ‘The Miniature Murders’ was another good instalment that implies this series will go from strength to strength. A few plotting issues do detract from the experience, but this is definitely one to recommend.