Note: To mark the 20th anniversary series, 20 ' Easter eggs' references were included in this episode. Normally I do a recap of the plot of the Midsomer Murders episode, but in the case of "Echoes of the Dead," I'm not going to. As far as the story, it was just okay. And also, may I point out, they didn't solve the case. It is the end of the tourist season for the Little Worthy model village, owned by the elderly Compton sisters. Model maker Bob Moss is carrying out his daily early morning rounds of the village when he discovers the body of Richard Tanner, stabbed and tied down in a scene reminiscent of Gulliver's Travels. As Barnaby and Jones start questioning the villagers, more deaths follow before they finally identify the family connections that lead them to a very disturbed killer.

Midsomer Pastures is on the map due to its famous connection with producing the Midsomer Blue cheese. When Debbie Moffett is lured to the caves and is subsequently bludgeoned by a wheel of cheese, it leads the detectives to investigate both the secret, controversial plans to modernize the dairy and the private lives of the parents of children at the local preparatory school in the same village. During the family dinner, Poppy Ordish, daughter of Beatrix Ordish and Oliver Ordish, refuses to eat beef. When more people are killed, long-held secrets about the dairy, school, and villagers are revealed and play a key role in catching the killer. In the end, John, Sarah, Sykes the dog, Ben, and Kate celebrate the Barnabys' 15th anniversary. As the preparations are underway for Cully Barnaby's wedding, Ned Fitzroy and Beth Porteous are married in Bledlow village. At the reception at Bledlow Hall, the maid of honour, Marina Fellowes, is found murdered. With the honeymoon postponed, the newlyweds and their guests find themselves under investigation by the police. Evidence soon points to a connection with archery when a fletching is found at the crime scene. Barnaby and Jones uncover a long family history with many secrets, lies, deception, and an illegitimate son. These things become even more complicated when the estate manager and former cook are also found murdered.Adam Asoba is found murdered, having been boiled to death in one of the vats at the newly opened brewery of the famously cursed abbey in Midsomer. Dr. Fleur Perkins, a new pathologist, tells Barnaby and Winter that Adam Asoba was living under a false name, and that he actually died three years earlier, under the name Adam Dumont. Adam’s widower, Kwame Asante, turns up at Adam’s house admitting the truth. It seems that he and Adam had big debts, and the only solution for them was for Adam to fake his death so that Kwame could start a new life by collecting a life insurance. The first murder seems to be the end of it, but when Emani Taylor, the woman responsible for the new brewery, is also murdered, Barnaby and Winter must look deeper to find the killer. John Ransom gets thrown out of the village pub in Midsomer Mere for fighting with his brother-in-law, and a short while later he is found dead on the green. It is discovered that John had been used as a guinea pig for scientific experiments by his brother Max, who suspected he had the ability of 'Second Sight'. Barnaby and Scott soon discover that another family possesses the same talent. They have to delve deeper to unravel many secrets in the village to find the truth.

Little Crosby are hosting its folk festival and event organiser Toby Winning is shortly found dead, having drowned in a bowl of eggs and live eels. The murder seemed to have been inspired by a ballad by late musician Johnny Carver. Toby had recently announced plans to relocate the event to London, which would have proved very costly for entrepreneur Frank Wainwright. Many villagers come under suspicion, and when two more murders echo lyrics from the same song, the detectives need to catch the person responsible. The villagers of Midsomer Deverell are angered by the Inkpen family's plans to convert the public memorial garden into a tea shop. When Elspeth Inkpen's daughter Fliss is found murdered in the garden, Barnaby and Troy believe that someone may be determined to stop its destruction. Elspeth ( Belinda Lang) moves to the vicarage where she too is murdered. As the investigation continues, the suspect list grows to include the daughter of the architect who designed the garden and a gardener ( Neil Dudgeon) with whom both Elspeth and Fliss had been having an affair. Barnaby and Troy realise that the case will only be solved when the garden gives up a sinister secret. Upon his death, Karl Wainwright, owner of the Easterly Grange Hotel, leaves an estate with a number of beneficiaries, including hotel manager Gregory Chambers, his wife Suzanna ( Samantha Bond), and hotel chef Tristan Goodfellow. One by one, they meet grisly deaths. Gregory is found dismembered in woodland where he had been foraging for mushrooms, Suzanna is killed with a shotgun and Tristan eats a meal of mushrooms that includes the deadly Destroying angel. Kenneth Gooders ( Jonathan Coy), the solicitor handling the estate, is also killed when his large drinks cabinet topples over and crushes him. A cryptic new script for Gregory's former Punch and Judy show may provide Barnaby and Troy with some answers. Simon Bright is found dead in a vintage car at a disused airfield in Cooper's Cross. The previous evening, he had been on a romantic date with his girlfriend Laura Sharp, who is nowhere to be found. Barnaby and Jones, newly promoted to DS, need to work out whether it was a suicide pact gone wrong, or murder, and to find Laura. Their investigation reveals that the couple had met at Elaine Trim's dancing classes in Morton Fendle. The two attend a 1940s-style dance night at the village hall, before another man is found stabbed and more secrets come to light.When wealthy landowner Gregory Lancaster's body goes missing on the night of his death, it starts a series of mysterious events in the village of Little Malton. DCI Barnaby, DS Nelson, and new forensic pathologist Kam Karimore enter a very macabre world of body-snatching. Nothing is quite what it seems, and when another strange event takes place, the detectives set out to catch the culprit. When popular GP Dr. Alan Delaney borrows fellow Dr. James Kirkwood's new car for an evening call-out, he is mysteriously killed in a hit-and-run accident. Barnaby and Jones start investigating in Midsomer Market and discover that James may have been the intended victim. The case leads them to North Wales — the former home of Delyth Mostyn, James's fiancée, to delve further. The possible suspects for the attempted murder on Kirkwood include Delyth's children, who oppose the engagement, Delyth's husband, and other acquaintances of Doctor Kirkwood. They need to find the truth before another attempt on James' life during a walk at Mount Snowdon. And there you have it. The good parts: Sykes, the dog. I like Sarah. Jones always gets a plus for me.

I don't understand why they would let the young lady go and live in said crime scene. But, whatever. Midsomer Worthy is preparing for the Four Choirs Competition when one of their members, Connor Simpson, is found dead at his home. Barnaby and Jones begin to look into the events leading to his death. The case is further complicated when a birdwatcher and estate keeper are also killed. With a mysterious figure seen lurking around the churchyard, conductor rivalry, and a possible art scam, there are many things to be investigated. Not only does this make things tiresomely predictable, but presumably to make things more suspenseful, the producers often make the murders especially grisly--as if preying on the most vulnerable of society is not disturbing enough. Others have mentioned the killer's ridiculous motivation. Suffice it to say it is one of the worst ever. But it's not something that could have been guessed at. The explanations given for the choice of the second and third/fourth victims weren't even hinted at and only come out in the interview with the apprehended culprit.Of the performances/characters, the scene stealer is Sykes, one of the cutest dogs on television and so endearing and funny. Ron Cook and Sarah Smart give the best performances of the human cast, and there is a very eerie moment in the build-up to the climax with the murderer whistling 'Lohengrin's "Bridal Chorus", that tune that has never been more chillingly ironic, unfortunately that is the one atmospheric moment in the whole episode there is. Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama [1] that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on Caroline Graham's Chief Inspector Barnaby book series, originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz.