I was very impressed with the two back to back episodes of this fascinating mystery with its strong acting and characterization. The location of the trial and and action is the busy town of Causton, which seems an agreeable change to the often strange hamlet of Midsomer, whose inhabitants can be a rather depressing lot despite the landscape beauty. Detective Barnaby is for once cast in the role of a doubting detective, first brought on by the intuitive daughter of a murdered woman and then his psychologist friend Pru Plunkett. The doubts come after he amasses the critical evidence to charge Annie Woodrow with the murder of her friend Frances Trevelyan. Then he has to revisit the case once more. The character of Barnaby has never been stronger than he is here, realizing that his own work might not have been thorough enough to get the real murderer. His constable Ben Jones is also on the case every step of the way. There is great chemistry between the two actors during the two episodes. Mrs. Beverley, the elderly lady who is swindled by Annie Woodrow's husband and a shady real estate agent, becomes a key player in the strategy to capture the real killer. Annie Woodrow and John Trevelyan, husband of the murdered woman, are secretly attracted to one another but too proper to break up John's marriage and family. John was excellent as a classy family man and Annie was the antithesis of a murderer, being reluctant to even put John in an embarrassing light. The plot was complicated and required all of Barnaby's talents with the aid of Jones and others intent on finding the truth.
Review of Last Year's Model
