The Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham is the first book in the Barnaby and Troy mystery series. Several of the novels have been made into TV movies and shown on A&E. The TV versions are very quirky and eccentric and though this novel had those elements, it was not as kooky as the movies.
Set in a small English village, The Killings at Badger's Drift revolves around the murder of Miss Emily Simpson, an elderly lady who was killed with hemlock. Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby and Sergeant Troy suspect that Miss Simpson witnessed something in the woods near the village that she shouldn't have seen. Interviewing witnesses and reviewing the evidence convince Barnaby that one of the local villagers is the culprit. After a blackmailer is also murdered the pieces start to fall into place and Barnaby and Troy track down the killer before he/she strikes again.
I really liked the characterization in this mystery. As far as plots go it was okay -- i figured out who it was before Barnaby did. The main draw of these mysteries is the cozy English village setting and the interesting characters. I would recommend this novel -- I am starting on the second one in the series and would not mind reading all seven.
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