The Silent Land is the fourth episode of the thirteenth series of the Midsomer Murders and was first aired on 3rd August 2010.
DCI Tom Barnaby, DS Ben Jones and DC Gail Stephens investigate the murder of Gerald Ebbs who is found sprawled across a grave in the cemetery of the church in March Magna. The investigation is initially quite stressful for Barnaby as his wife Joyce had an accident the previous evening while on her way home from a concert with their daughter Cully. She saw a figure on the road and swerved but is afraid she may have struck someone. Fortunately Dr. Bullard confirms that Ebbs was struck on the head and has even identified the murder weapon. There is little doubt that Ebbs was disliked by everyone in the village so there are any number of suspects. Ebbs seemed to have a peculiar interest in that graveyard which was used mainly for patients from a nearby and long closed sanatorium. A second murder points Barnaby in the direction of the killer.
Tropes:
- Abandoned Hospital: Much of the action centres around a supposedly-haunted, abandoned TB hospital.
- Bedsheet Ghost: A prankster dresses up as a bedsheet ghost in order to disrupt a ghost walk. However, the killer takes advantage of the distraction to murder Jeff Bowmaker.
- Dead Man Honking: Not dead but unconscious; The Teaser ends with Joyce crashing her car. The scene fades to the credits with the horn blaring as Joyce slumps unconscious on the steering wheel.
- Hot Librarian: Sarah Sharp, the village librarian, deliberately dresses to invoke this trope because she knows the effect it has on one particular man who is obsessed with her.
