Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift (USA 2025)

From the Publisher:
"Murder most pleasing... a corking good mystery." -- Los Angeles Times
This award-winner is the first of the Inspector Barnaby novels and inspiration for the staggeringly popular Midsomer Murders TV series -- 24 seasons and counting! It's no wonder the Sunday Times called Caroline Graham "simply the best detective writer since Agatha Christie."

Badger's Drift is the ideal English village, complete with vicar, bumbling local doctor, and kindly spinster with a nice line in homemade cookies. But when the spinster dies suddenly, her best friend kicks up a fuss loud enough to attract the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby. And when Barnaby and his eager-beaver deputy start poking around, they uncover a swamp of ugly scandals and long-suppressed resentments seething beneath the hollyhocks.

In the grand English tradition of the quietly intelligent copper, Barnaby has both a bone dry sense of humor and a keen eye for what makes people tick. Badger's Drift has won the Macavity Awards for Best First Mystery and has proved itself a crime-drama classic.

Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift. Classic Mayhem - Midsomer Murders. Inspector Barnaby #1. Felony & Mayhem Press, ISBN: 9781631943294 (March, 2025), 274 p., $16.95.

Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift (UK 2016)

From the Publisher:
The village of Badger's Drift is the essence of tranquillity. But when resident and well-loved spinster Miss Simpson takes a stroll in the nearby woods, she stumbles across something she was never meant to see, and there's only one way to keep her quiet.

Miss Simpson's death is not suspicious, say the villagers. But Miss Lucy Bellringer refuses to rest: her friend has been murdered. She is sure of it.

She calls on Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby to investigate, and it isn't long until the previously unseen seamy side of Badger's Drift is brought to light.

But as old rivalries, past loves and new scandals surface, the next murder is not far away.

Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift. A Midsomer Murder Mystery. Headline, ISBN: 9781472243652 (October, 2016), 275 p., £8.99.

Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift (UK 2007)

From the Publisher:
Badger's Drift - a tranquil English village, home to Miss Emily Simpson, a kindly, well-liked spinster. But when poor Miss Simpson takes a gentle stroll in the woods near her home one day and sees something among the trees that she was never meant to see, her peaceful existence is brought to an abrupt end.

To most, Miss Simpson's death looks natural enough, but her old friend Miss Lucy Bellringer is unconvinced and calls on Chief Inspector Barnaby for help. Sure enough, as he investigates, a previously unseen seamy side to Badger's Drift is revealed - one where old rivalries, old loves and new scandals are rife. And then there's a second, horrifically gruesome killing...

Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift. A Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby Case. Headline, ISBN: 0755342151 (September, 2007), 277 p., £7.99.

Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift (USA 2005)

From the Publisher:
The First Book in the Inspector Barnaby Series
Badger's Drift is the ideal English village, complete with vicar, bumbling local doctor, and kindly spinster with a nice line in homemade cookies. But when the spinster dies suddenly, her best friend kicks up an unseemly fuss, loud enough to attract the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby. And when Barnaby and his eager-beaver deputy start poking around, they uncover a swamp of ugly scandals and long-suppressed resentments seething below the picture-postcard prettiness.

In the grand English tradition of the quietly intelligent copper, Barnaby has both an irresistibly dry sense of humor and a keen insight into what makes people tick. Badger's Drift marks Barnaby's debut, and offers ample proof that Caroline Graham may indeed be "simply the best detective writer since Agatha Christie" (Sunday Times of London).

Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift. The First Inspector Barnaby Mystery. Felony & Mayhem Press, ISBN: 1933397047 (June, 2005), 272 p., $14.95.

Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift (UK 1989)

From the Publisher:
Badger's Drift - a tranquil English village, home to Miss Emily Simpson, a kindly, well-liked spinster. But a gentle stroll in the woods near her home one day brings an abrupt end to her peaceful existence, for Miss Simpson sees something among the trees that she was never meant to see, and someone makes sure she will never reveal what it was... To the village doctor, Miss Simpson's death looks natural enough, but her old friend Miss Lucy Bellringer is unconvinced and eventually drags the unwilling Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby into the case. His investigation reveals an unexpectedly seamy side to Badger's Drift - old rivalries, old loves, new scandals all come to light. And a second, horrifically gruesome killing shocks Barnaby into running the murderer to ground...

'Characterisation first-rate, plotting likewise... Written with enormous relish. A very superior whodunnit' -- Literary Review
'Uncommonly appealing... witty and tragic... a real winner' -- Publishers Weekly
'Guaranteed to keep you guessing until the very end' -- Woman
'Probably the most underrated British crime writer. Her talent is rare, combining wit, pathos and an entertaining narrative' -- Yorkshire Post

Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift. Headline, ISBN: 0747232334 (April, 1989), 264 p., £2.99.

Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift (USA 1989)

From the Publisher:
MEET BARNABY AND TROY...
Miss Lucy Bellringer was insistent: her closest friend, Emily Simpson, had not simply died of old age. There was an unmistakable scent of foul play in the air. Who better to get at the truth of the matter than the team of Inspector Barnaby and Sergeant Troy. While Troy was stumbling blindly all over clues, it took Inspector Barnaby no time at all to sniff out the sordid secrets of Badger's Drift... secrets that added up to murder.

CAROLINE GRAHAM, a professional journalist and screenwriter, makes an auspicious debut as a novelist with this highly acclaimed mystery - bringing us British sleuthing at its best and a delightful new Scotland Yard team we can look forward to meeting again in her second "Inspector Barnaby" mystery.

"AN IMPRESSIVE DEBUT!" raves the Washington Post
"A VERY SUPERIOR WHODUNNIT!" says top critic Philip Oakes of the influential British Literary Review

Caroline Graham: The Killings at Badger's Drift. A quaint English village can hide a multitude of sins... Avon Books, ISBN: 038070563X (February, 1989), 264 p., $3.50