Radio Times: Review by:; Alison Graham

Here’s another dollop of Midsomer madness as a young May Queen
is attacked in the woods by a man wearing a mask shaped like
a chess piece. Her boyfriend is missing. The victim is in a coma
for a year, before suddenly coming round, unable to remember what happened to her.

There’s a strong chess theme running through a typically bizarre story as nice DCI Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) and his well-meaning but dim sidekick DS Jones (Jason Hughes) turn up at a fraught chess convention.

The usual avalanche of suspects includes the father of the missing boy, who SHOUTS all the time, and an ambitious chess mother. Barnaby, whose wife is currently clearing out the family loft (this is a curious comedy subplot), even dabbles in a bit of amateur psychology. But he proves that a little knowledge really is a dangerous thing.

About this programme

5/6. Coma victim Harriet Farmer finally wakes up a year after she was attacked while trying to elope, but her boyfriend Finn Robson is still missing. Soon after she regains consciousness, members of a chess club are targeted by a killer. Could the assault that left Harriet for dead be linked to moves on a games board? Barnaby investigates. Guest starring Fay Ripley (Cold Feet), with Neil Dudgeon and Jason Hughes.