THE STING OF DEATH
Detailed Synopsis
© ITV Pic/Mark Bourdillon
Beautiful
manor house, Apley Court, on the edge of the village of Granville
Norton is home to historic hives that produce 'Apley Gold' honey; a
valuable top of the range honey. Bee obsessive Lord of the manor
Abrose Deddington (Griff Rhys Jones), the eighth generation of honey
producers at Apley Court , is a survivor of a life-threatening
cancer, for which he cites a combination of Apley Gold and bee venom
from his famouse bees as his saviour. And with the unyielding support
of his sister Tamara, his faith in its extraordinary healing power
has brought Ambrose success, wealth and a dedicated following of
Apitherapy devotees.
For
years now Ambrose has maintained his status as top dog of the
village, with his wealth and aristocratic title ensuring his position.
But that position comes under threat when he and his precious hives
are attacked by a masked assailant.
Barnaby
and Winter are called in to investigate, with Ambrose convinced that
the only person of interest should be his nephew Jude, who was
outlawed from the family pile years ago with his mother Melissa.
Jude
protests his innocence - he has no concern with Ambrose's hives, he
has his own enterprise making home-brewed mead, and anyway he's far
too busy caring for his mother whose mental health is starting to decline.
While
Ambrose sticks to the traditional method of bee husbandry and honey
making, his entrepreneurial sister Tamara has been busy making an
empire over at 'The Hive'; a honey themed wellness centre and yoga
studio. Having heard about the great yoga classes they hold, Sarah
Barnaby heads over there to sign herself and a very reluctant Barnaby
up for a trial class where she meets heart throb yoga instructor Noah
Moon. He's become a victim of his own success and his classes are
always fully booked mostly by his many admirers which seem to include
Tamara and her PR guru Cal>
Hannah,
Vicar Nigel Brookthorpe's daughter, returns from a year abroad and
is quick to hear of Noah's overbooked classes. Immediately she
suggests that he holds them in the church instead; she knows church
attendance is at an all time low and that the income would really
help the church and her father.
With
the increase of space, Barnaby and Sarah are off the waiting list
and Barnaby finds himself less than comfortable with Noah's very
hands-on method of teaching. The class takes a turn for the dramatic
when Nigel bursts into the hall and demands that the yogi 'heathens'
get out of the church, outraged to discover that his Parish has been
used for such new age worship.
Barnaby
doesn't have time to recover when he learns that village Doctor
Serena has been found dead on the village green, her head and neck
entirely covered in bees. Fleur discovers that she had in fact been
hit on the head and then covered in 'swarm lure' - an elixir that is
used to lure bees. It looks like someone was trying to send a
message, and the pressure is on to work out from who and why before
the killer has a chance to strike again.