Case file · Series 7, Episode 4
Sins of Commission
A literary festival gathers ambitious writers, editors and publishers before an author's apparent fall is proved to be murder.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Publishing's polite language of prizes, advances and commissions conceals a particularly competitive village economy.
- Best for
- Literary festival · Publishing · Fraud
- Mood
- Classic
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DS Dan Scott
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
Publishing's polite language of prizes, advances and commissions conceals a particularly competitive village economy.
A literary festival gathers ambitious writers, editors and publishers before an author's apparent fall is proved to be murder.
Former prize-winning writer Richard Rackham is found dead at the start of Midsomer St Michael's annual literary festival. What looks like a fall becomes murder when the examination shows his neck was broken first.
Writers, editors and publishers arrive carrying old rivalries and urgent financial interests. The deaths of Rackham's editor and another author lead Barnaby and Scott through fraudulent work, concealed authorship and people whose public literary careers depend on private arrangements.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The murders protect a publishing deception and the reputations built upon it; the festival's celebration of authorship becomes the clue to who actually produced the work.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 7
- Episode number
- Episode 4
- Written by
- Elizabeth-Anne Wheal
- Directed by
- Peter Smith
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 18 January 2004
- Reported filming period
- August–September 2003
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Dan Scott
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer St Michael
- Casebook tone
- Classic
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 3 broader filming areas and 2 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger4 episodes credited to Elizabeth-Anne Wheal
- Director ledger22 episodes directed by Peter Smith
- Release positionCase 32 of 144
- Story characterClassic · Literary festival · Publishing
- Location evidence2 exact screen-use matches
A Beaconsfield gatehouse becomes the entrance to Maplin Hall in fictional Midsomer St Michael.
Chapter One in Chesham appears as the village bookshop, while The Six Bells at Warborough supplies the local pub.
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.
Selected episode credits
Guest cast on file
Selected profiles and published cast-list entries. Database records are linked individually; this is not a full transcription or an independent check against the end credits.
Stella Gonet
Published cast record ↗Emma Buckley
Published cast record ↗Mark Umbers
Published cast record ↗Donald Sumpter
Published cast record ↗Susan Engel
Published cast record ↗The performers behind this case
Core cast
Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.
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John Nettles
Tom Barnaby · Detective Chief InspectorAn English actor, author and narrator who was already a household name as Jersey detective Jim Bergerac. After Bergerac he spent five seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and later returned to television drama in Poldark.
- Bergerac
- Poldark
- Royal Shakespeare Company
John Hopkins
Dan Scott · Detective SergeantAn English actor with extensive stage, screen and voice work. His credits include the Royal Shakespeare Company, Poldark and Alice in Wonderland, as well as prominent game performances in Horizon, Hitman and Assassin's Creed.
- Royal Shakespeare Company
- Poldark
- Horizon game series
Barry Jackson
Dr George Bullard · Police pathologistAn English stage and screen character actor whose career lasted more than five decades. His credits ranged from the landmark television play Cathy Come Home to Doctor Who, Barry Lyndon and many familiar British television dramas.
- Cathy Come Home
- Doctor Who
- Barry Lyndon
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 George Bullard
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Barry Jackson
Causton's long-serving pathologist is professionally unflappable, quietly witty and an old friend of Tom Barnaby.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
3 source rows represent 3 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Richard Rackham
Murder · Fall
- Neville Williams
Murder · Blunt force
- Jezebel Tripp
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Chapter One Bookshop
Used as: The bookshop appears as the bookshop in fictional Midsomer St Michael.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
The Six Bells
Used as: The pub becomes Midsomer St Michael's village local.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Building identities are cross-checked against the Casebook's published filming-location references. A named match describes the part used on screen, not the whole village and not necessarily an interior.
Wider filming areas
Places connected to this file
Beaconsfield
Old-town architecture, churches and nearby estates have supplied homes, police buildings and village streets throughout the run.
Open location →Chesham
The old town, church, market square and shops have doubled for Causton and several fictional villages.
Open location →Warborough
Its broad green, cottages and Six Bells pub have portrayed several villages and supplied recurring community scenes.
Open location →