Claws Out is the third episode of the twenty fourth series of Midsomer Murders.
In the idyllic village of Binwell, pets are going missing. Pet detective Frank Bailey and his crew are on the case- using technology to find missing cats and dogs. But, when someone commits murder, DCI John Barnaby and DS Jamie Winter investigate.
Tropes:
- Blood from the Mouth: Perry coughs up blood into his handkerchief: a symptom of the terminal cancer he is hiding from his family.
- Compressed Vice: Paddy, who has previously been portrayed as an obedient—if mischievous—dog, suddenly refuses to obey any command given for the duration of this episode.
- Crazy Cat Lady: Professor Lorna McIntosh lies in a house with dozens of cats and steals other people's cats to add to her collection.
- High-Voltage Death: Tai is murdered when the killer places an electric dog training collar around his neck. They usually emit a low-level electric shock using batteries, but this one has been tampered with and wired up to the main power outlet.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Perry is frequently coughing; a symptom of his terminal cancer.
- Mistaken for Junkie: After discovering a bag of drugs in her daughter Daniella's room, Madeline Saunders is convinced that they must belong to Daniella's boyfriend Tai, and that he is either a junkie or a dealer. In reality, Daniella is holding them for a local dealer to pay off a debt, and Tai knows nothing about them.
- Murder by Mistake: Frank was never the intended victim of the first murder. The intended victim was Tai. As Barnaby puts it:And Tai turned up in that car park moments after Frank. Two men of the same height and build, both wearing dark jackets, both in full-face motorbike helmets.
- Two Dun It: Madeline Saunders emotionally blackmails Perry Fleming into committing the first two murders for her, then commits the third one herself.
- The Un-Favourite: Daniella Saunders is stuck trying to live up to the legacy of her deceased older brother Edison, with her mother Madeline attempting to bully her her into studying medicine; which was Edison's dream, not hers.
