Case file · Series 24, Episode 2 · Season 24, Episode 2
Book of the Dead
A disgraced author's revived treasure-hunt book sends Mods Mire searching for clues shortly before its creator is murdered.
Verified filming locations
Every filming site currently documented in this Casebook file is listed here. The published evidence does not establish a complete production itinerary.
- Holy Trinity Church · Penn Street, Buckinghamshire
The church becomes the parish church of fictional Mods Mire.
Filming source ↗ - The Red Lion · Penn, Buckinghamshire
The real pub keeps its name when it appears as The Red Lion in Mods Mire.
Filming source ↗ - Elm Road shopfront · Penn, Buckinghamshire
A village shopfront stands in for Othello Khan's antiques business, Kollectables.
Filming source ↗
Map lookup by place name. A private house’s exact address is not marked.
Selected episode credits
Book of the Dead cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Fiona Dolman
Sally Lindsay
Shaun Dooley
Christina Bennington
Selina Cadell
Jon Culshaw
Omid Djalili
Oliver Dimsdale
Mina Andala
Zak Ford-Williams
Rhashan Stone
Amelia Donkor
Felixe Forde
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
The programme turns a puzzle book into both village entertainment and a map of unfinished business.
- Best for
- Treasure hunt · Literary legacy · Buried history
- Mood
- Dark
- Team
- DCI John Barnaby with DS Jamie Winter
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. Check the linked provider advisory for further viewing information.
Why it matters
The programme turns a puzzle book into both village entertainment and a map of unfinished business.
Mods Mire marks the anniversary of Bertram Jewell's celebrated puzzle book, The Seeker, with a new edition containing an additional page of clues. Celebration turns sour when the author's former identity and imprisonment become public, raising doubts about both his reputation and the promised treasure.
After Jewell is killed, the hunt continues through the woodland, church and businesses of Mods Mire. Barnaby and Winter must determine who understands the new clue sheet, what was hidden during the author's earlier life, and why a literary revival has made several villagers dangerous.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The new treasure hunt is inseparable from the author's earlier fraud, an old accomplice and information encoded for someone who knows his past rather than merely his books.
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 24
- Episode number
- Episode 2
- Written by
- Jeff Povey
- Directed by
- Gill Wilkinson
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 11 December 2023
- Reported filming period
- April–May 2023
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Jamie Winter
- Pathologist
- Dr Fleur Perkins · Annette Badland
- Principal setting
- Mods Mire
- Casebook tone
- Dark
Check the credits, then follow the source trail for production and filming details. Counts below describe this archive’s records.
The fictional setting and the real filming sites are separate pieces of information. The location desk currently connects it to 0 broader filming areas and 3 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits8 episodes credited to Jeff Povey
- Director credits3 episodes directed by Gill Wilkinson
- Release positionCase 138 of 144
- Story characterDark · Treasure hunt · Literary legacy
- Location evidence3 exact screen-use matches
Mods Mire rearranges the letters of Midsomer, a piece of wordplay particularly suited to an episode built around coded clues.
Penn Street supplies the parish church, pub, antique-shop exterior and several village tracking shots used for the fictional community.
Sources for the production file
Published episode chronology and credits ↗Official ITV programme page ↗Filming-location reference index ↗The chronology is the reference for the credits shown here. A programme homepage does not independently verify a filming date or every production detail. Where multiple transmission dates are listed, territory attribution needs checking. Story, teleplay and adaptation distinctions require the original credit wording; links to external synopses may reveal plot details.
The performers behind this case
Core cast
Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.
Neil Dudgeon
John Barnaby · Detective Chief InspectorAn English actor whose television work before Causton included Piece of Cake, The Mrs Bradley Mysteries, Messiah and the sitcom Life of Riley. He also appeared in Midsomer Murders years earlier as a different character in Garden of Death.
- Messiah
- Life of Riley
- The Mrs Bradley Mysteries
Nick Hendrix
Jamie Winter · Detective SergeantAn English actor trained at the University of Exeter and RADA. His theatre work includes the National Theatre, Old Vic and West End, while his screen credits include Black Mirror, Marcella, The Crown, Legend and Suffragette.
- Black Mirror
- Marcella
- The Crown
Annette Badland
Dr Fleur Perkins · Police pathologistAn award-winning English actor with an extensive career in theatre, television, film and radio. Her many recognisable roles include Doctor Who, EastEnders, Outlander, Bergerac and pub landlady Mae in Ted Lasso.
- Ted Lasso
- Doctor Who
- EastEnders
Portraits are used only where a reusable licence or public-domain release has been verified. Publicity stills and stock photographs are not copied into this independent guide.
Forensic desk
Dr Fleur Perkins
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Annette Badland
Fleur pairs forensic certainty with dry humour and a magnificently low tolerance for Midsomer nonsense.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
3 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Bertram Jewell
Murder · Blunt force
Performer check- Bertram Jewell: Jon CulshawThe published cast record and episode dossier use Bertram Jewell; the death ledger's former single-l spelling has been corrected.
- Venetia Butts
Murder · Suffocation
Performer check- Venetia Butts: Selina Cadell
- Venetia Butts's son
Murder · Drowning
Performer check- Venetia Butts's son: not listed in the current published cast recordThe historical victim is described by relationship rather than name, and no corresponding performer appears in the current published cast record.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Verified killer
Eli TraskEli killed Bertram Jewell when their old gas-alarm fraud and its supposed treasure threatened to surface, then killed Venetia Butts after she blackmailed him and threatened his son Ludo. He staged evidence against the Myhills; Venetia's son's earlier death in the gas-alarm explosion remains a separate historical consequence of the fraud.
Verified motive
Eli killed Bertram when their old gas-alarm fraud risked exposure and Bertram's fabricated treasure kept consuming Ludo's life. He killed witness Venetia after her blackmail escalated into threats against Ludo, then framed the Myhills; Eli consistently describes the later violence as an attempt to free his son for a proper life away from Bertram and the book.
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Holy Trinity Church
Used as: The church becomes the parish church of fictional Mods Mire.
The Red Lion
Used as: The real pub keeps its name when it appears as The Red Lion in Mods Mire.
Elm Road shopfront
Used as: A village shopfront stands in for Othello Khan's antiques business, Kollectables.
Sources support the listed site uses; they do not establish every filming location in an episode.
Wider filming areas
Places connected to this file
No real-place link is published here until it can be tied to a specific, sourced screen use.