Death in Disguise

A Midsomer Murders Mystery, Book 3

By: Caroline Graham

Narrated by: John Hopkins

To the distaste of the Compton Dando villagers, the big house has been taken over by a group of New Age eccentrics. And when the first death is reported, no one is surprised...or disappointed. The coroner rules it an accident.

But only weeks later, there’s another death. And this time, it is murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby is called to the scene immediately, and there’ll be no escape until he has sifted through the world of psychics, cult leaders and horrifying deaths to get to the cause of it all.

©1992 Caroline Graham (P)2022 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"Simply the best detective writer since Agatha Christie." (The Sunday Times)

"Wickedly acid, yet sympathetic." (Publishers Weekly)

"Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby and his team are called out to a cultish New Age commune to determine the cause of a series of brutal murders in the third installment of Midsomer Murders, narrated exquisitely by John Hopkins. Hopkins brings his ample talent and experience to the task, giving voice to this large cast of quirky characters and building suspense with perfect pacing and inflection. Hopkins is familiar to Midsomer fans, both from narrating the first two books in the series and from his part as Sergeant Dan Scott on the television show. Although this is the third in the series, listeners can enjoy this audiobook as an excellent, complex mystery on its own as they become acquainted with the cult members and discover clues along with DCI Barnaby." (AudioFile Magazine)

A gem!

The characters are so well done, so intricately portrayed. I’ll listen over and over again.

Witty, humorous, and kept me guessing!

Some other reviewers have said this book in the series was slow and I disagree. It has several murders and I found the descriptions of some of the residents of the Wind Horse (and their antics) hilarious.
It was very rich in character development, as all her books seem to be. She goes deep into the human experience of love, hate, betrayal, fear, desire, greed, and more.
And as much as I thought I had the murders solved, I was wrong! Which I find so satisfying when I’m surprised at the end.
She also gets pretty detailed wrapping up each character’s story at the end of the book, which I always appreciate. She doesn’t just end it and leave it up to your imagination. She tells each person’s story to its rightful ending point.
I highly recommend this and all other books in the Midsomer Murder series! I will be re-reading them for years to come.

Rather disappointing

This has to be my least favorite of the series. The characters are shallow and the book was just boring until the investigation started, and that was probably half way through the book. It just felt like 2 different genres mashed together in a disjointed book. John Hopkins is a class act as always though.

Midsummer murder who did it?

Very well written. John Hopkins is the perfect voice for Ms Graham's murders. I liked the fact that all the stories of each individual character are wrapped up for us in the end. Kept me wondering who done it until the end.

Another great Midsomer Murder mystery

John Hopkins does a fantastic job narrating this series. The story takes place on a commune in a large home, where silly mystics mix with those who are truly seeking a peaceful existence. The only quibble here is the books are showing their age a bit--with some sexist workplace language and scenarios that would never be accepted in a book written today. But I put this and the others in the series squarely in the cozy and fun murder mystery genre. Good fun.

struggled to finish

good narration, but I struggled to finish. I only hung in there because I liked the 1st and 2nd books.

Enthralling

Caroline Graham again has written a masterpiece with multiple threads gaining around the main plot. Her detailed descriptions of events and development of characters produces an enthralling listen or read. For those delighting in that kind of depth, this book is a must!

A disappointing outing in the series

This was less a mystery than a social satire. As a satire. it was not terribly interesting because the characters were fairly shallow. The actual investigation doesn't start until halfway through. I have enjoyed other books in this series, but not this one.

Tedious at first, but hang in there

I enjoy character setups, books taking time to set the scene before a murder takes place. I don't care if the crime does not occur until the middle of the book. The problem with this story. for me, is in the beginning, I did not care for the characters, and the description somehow seemed boring. Once the murder takes place, the story picks up and becomes quite entertaining. By the end of the book all is explained, and while i liked the wind up, I never liked the main cast of characters. Still, I would recommend the book and I liked the narrator.

Please do the whole series!!!!

Please do the whole series! I liked the tv show, but the books are so much better!!!