The Village Murder CasebookAn unofficial Midsomer Murders guide

Complete released-series file · 2012–2013

Series 15

6 feature-length cases from the John Barnaby era, led by DCI John Barnaby with DS Ben Jones across the run.

Two empty leather chairs and contrasting case notebooks on a rural detective desk at dusk
Original Village Murder Casebook artwork—not a programme still.
Cases6

Episodes 1–6

First shown2012–2013

Year-level chronology

Settings6

Principal fictional places

Archive depth6/6

Expanded case files

Before you open the folder

What defines Series 15?

This run sits in the John Barnaby period and contains 6 cases. Its archive labels lean eccentric, with 3 cases carrying that tone.

Best entry point
Schooled in Murder
Opening case
The Dark Rider
Final case
Schooled in Murder
Recurring settings
Each principal setting appears once

Archive highlights

Three ways into Series 15

Editorial signposts drawn from the Casebook catalogue—not a claim that every murder needs a podium.

Opening file

The Dark Rider

A headless horseman appears at a grand family's Civil War pageant, immediately before prophecy becomes homicide.

Episode 1 →Casebook focus · Landmark

Schooled in Murder

Famous for its murder method, but equally important as the final regular case for Ben Jones.

Open the case →Filming trail

The Dark Rider

1 broader filming areas are already connected to this file.

Follow the places →

Who works these cases

Core cast in Series 15

Every lead detective, investigating partner and credited on-screen pathologist represented in this series.

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Lead detective

Neil Dudgeon

John Barnaby · 6 cases

An 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.

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Investigating partner

Jason Hughes

Ben Jones · 6 cases

A Welsh actor who first became widely known as Warren Jones in the BBC drama This Life. His later television work includes Marcella and The Pact, alongside substantial theatre work at venues including the Donmar Warehouse and Royal Court.

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Forensic support

Tamzin Malleson

Dr Kate Wilding · 6 cases

An English actor whose best-known television work includes Dangerfield, Teachers, the medical drama Bodies and Unforgotten. She has also appeared in Poirot, Marcella and A Touch of Frost.

Open actor profile →

Complete episode ledger

Every Series 15 case

6 expanded dossiers and 0 concise catalogue records, all linked in broadcast order.

  1. Episode01

    2012 · Quitewell

    The Dark Rider

    A headless horseman appears at a grand family's Civil War pageant, immediately before prophecy becomes homicide.

    EccentricWritten by Michael AitkensExpanded dossier1 mapped areasOpen case →
  2. Episode02

    2012 · Binwell

    Murder of Innocence

    A man convicted of murder returns to Binwell as the people on his prison death list begin to die.

    DarkWritten by Elizabeth-Anne WhealExpanded dossier1 mapped areasOpen case →
  3. Episode03

    2012 · Midsomer Stanton

    Written in the Stars

    A solar-eclipse gathering at an observatory is followed by deaths involving a meteorite, a spear and an astronomical disc.

    EccentricWritten by Steve TraffordExpanded dossierLocation research openOpen case →
  4. Episode04

    2013 · Midsomer Langley

    Death and the Divas

    A horror-film festival reunites two estranged acting sisters as real deaths begin to imitate the films of one of them.

    EccentricWritten by Rachel Cuperman and Sally GriffithsExpanded dossier1 mapped areasOpen case →
  5. Episode05

    2013 · Midsomer County

    The Sicilian Defence

    A young woman wakes from a coma as a fiercely competitive chess gathering revives the mystery of the attack that put her there.

    DarkWritten by Paul LogueExpanded dossier1 mapped areasOpen case →
  6. Episode06

    2013 · Midsomer Pastures

    Schooled in Murder

    A dairy dispute and fiercely competitive school parents culminate in the programme's most notorious wheel of cheese.

    LandmarkWritten by Lisa HoldsworthExpanded dossier1 mapped areasOpen case →