Midsomer Murders (TV Series) A Sacred Trust (2011) User Reviews

Who killed the nun?

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 27 October 2011]

Shortly after a sixth-former and his girlfriend are caught having sex in the priory grounds by one of the nuns he returns with his friends and smashes the chapel's stained glass windows… not long after one of the nuns is found strangled; did he do that as well? Of course this being Midsomer plenty of other motives arise… if the already small community were to die out the valuable property would revert to the original family and the nuns themselves are in disagreement over whether to sell some valuable silver which happened to go missing at the time of the murder, of course the true motive might have nothing to do with the priory.

This is all standard fare for Midsomer Murders… which is why I enjoyed it so much! We have the usual character types; some good, some bad and mostly eccentric in their own way. With this type of series half the fun is trying to guess who did it and who will get bumped off next and this time I was very wide of the mark! The murders themselves were fairly run of the mill; no exotic weapons or gory remains; just manual strangulation. A good chemistry has grown up between Neil Dudgeon's Barnaby and Jason Hughes' Sergeant Jones… the final scene is priceless but I won't spoil it here!

What the Heck is Wrong with These Amateur Reviewers??

[susanhudek53 · 9/10 · 28 March 2018]

I'm frankly sick of these rank amateurs enviscerating this wonderful show. They pick it apart like vultures at roadkill. Having an opinion is one thing but they tear it apart as if they had inside knowledge or the ability to make it better. Why can't they just accept it for what it is...an entertaining show that maybe inconsistant in its stories, but exists to entertain. If your looking for perfection, you won't find it. A show doesn't last this longer if its lost its ability to entertain. Compare it to American television..its far better fare.

I love the new Barnaby. Just as good as the first one.

[grandmabrat · 9/10 · 10 May 2019]

Every single Midsomer Murder is very agreeable to me. A lot of different villages and stories. Not all the same but most tell of the country and the people. Nothing is better than a mystery that has on average three murders per episode. And you get a lovely backstory while you are trying to figure it out. This one is just like that. A nunnery in modern days and what has happened around it. Like I said, any mystery with a Barnaby is my most favorite series.

Arguably the best episode to feature Neil Dudgeon

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 21 September 2018]

A Sacred Trust is one of the best episodes to feature the second Barnaby, and I'd also go so far as to rank it as one of the better episodes of the show in general, placing it top twenty at the very least.

It boasts a fantastic, original plot, the setting is very unusual, setting the main story in a Priory gives the episode a very different feel, slightly claustrophobic, a very clever idea. It showed the decline for such places, but also the spirit that must be held by those in them.

Some nice moments of humour, Jones's nun appearance was gold, and yet you still get a sense of slight unease between his character and Barnaby.

I thought the acting was top notch, I've always been a fan of Joanna David, indeed she played a huge role in what I class as the definitive Midsomer episode, Written in Blood, she has lost none of her talent, strong and commanding, much more then a match for Barnaby. Very good performances elsewere, Rosalind Knight also charming, another actress who'd previously appeared in a classic, Birds of Prey.

Great start, great story development, and a fantastic ending, A Sacred Trust demonstrates that the show still has plenty of steam ahead of it. I think this one's brilliant.

Nun killing with 'Midsomer Murders'

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 3 March 2017]

When in its prime (a vast majority of Seasons 1-9), 'Midsomer Murders' was a great show and one that is watched and re-watched frequently. Seasons 10-13 became more uneven, with three of the show's worst episodes coming from Seasons 11 and 13, but there were a few solid episodes and "Blood Wedding" and especially "Master Class" were gems.

After John Nettles retired and Neil Dudgeon and the new character of John Barnaby took over, 'Midsomer Murders' just hasn't been the same for reasons detailed in reviews for the previous Season 14 episodes. Season 14 on the most part was very disappointing, with "Echoes of the Dead" and "Night of the Stag" faring worst. Along with "The Oblong Murders", "A Sacred Trust" is on the other hand the season at its best which is saying a lot.

Not classic 'Midsomer Murders' by all means. "A Sacred Trust" is let down by the final solution, which is rather ridiculous and improbable. Kate Wilding is still a very bland character and a pretty poor replacement for Dr Bullard.

Like "The Oblong Murders", "A Sacred Trust" does correct what most of the season and the John Barnaby-era episodes in general got wrong. There is a welcome return to some gentle humour and Jones' cheeky demeanour and charm rather than the dumbed-down idiot that he became after Tom left. His chemistry with John is not as mean-spirited and John is not as condescending. Neil Dudgeon gives one of his more comfortable-looking performances of the season and Jason Hughes does a lot with what he has.

With the exception of Tamsin Malleson struggling to do much with a bland character, the support acting is strong, especially from Joanna David in her second appearance on the show (her first being Season 1's "Written in Blood", where the climax with her and Anna Massey is one of the greatest 'Midsomer Murders' climaxes).

Production values cannot be faulted as usual, it's beautifully and atmospherically shot with suitably picturesque scenery. The music fits perfectly, with some lush jauntiness and sometimes an ominous quality, and the haunting theme tune is one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable of the genre. The script is better balanced and more interesting than most John Barnaby-era episodes.

The story is the closest the season got to replicating the spirit of the older 'Midsomer Murders' episodes, and is more focused, very intriguing and easier to follow but also less obvious than the previous episodes.

All in all, a rare good Season 14 episode, the joint best of the season and one of the better John Barnaby-era episodes despite the disappointing ending. 8/10 Bethany Cox

A sacred Trust

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 1 July 2023]

Barnaby and Jones investigate the cloistered world of Midsomer Priory when a nun is found strangled. The detectives uncover a complex mystery involving holy orders, teenage romantic liaisons, missing trousers African art and missing antique silver as the community is forced to open its doors to 21st-century policing.

A rather better than average MSM made so by the inclusion of nuns, some good atmosphere of deceit and secrets, fantastic setting of the church and good characters. The conclusion in particular is quite good with a neat twist. I much prefer Neil Dudgeon over Nettles - like his dry look of amusement when he interviews a rather barmy suspect. He's also quite sympathetic and doesn't treat his assistants like lackeys- well not most of the time.

A pretty good episode!

[harrykivi · 8/10 · 15 January 2023]

After seeing "The Night of the Stag", I expected to watch something much better. "A Sacred Trust" is easily the best episode of the 14th season. It's not great, but it is a pretty good episode indeed.

Let's start with the good aspects, shall we?

. The production values of the episode are great as usual. The music fits the scenery and the direction's solid. The acting is quite good all around. The chemistry between John Barnaby and Ben Jones has gotten much better over the season - Neil Dudgeon looks invested and Jason Hughes is wonderful. Out of the good guest stars Joanna David stands out the most.

. The mystery is mostly very compelling with surprising twists and turns, the characters are colorful and there is some suitable wry humor here and there.

But...

. The story is, agreed, let down by a rather stupid and hard to believe solution in which Matthew Hendred turns out to be the killer. Also there are some red herrings in this story that could have been built something more of merrit.

Overall, still a very good episode.

8/10 HK.

A nice change

[Schweizer85 · 7/10 · 26 January 2021]

I'm generally not a fan at all of the newer series. All the production values that the earlier series were founded on seem to have vanished. This episode however was a nice change from the pattern than the Neil Dudgeon episodes seem to follow. The smaller cast certainly helps, all well acted in particular Joanna David who is equally good in an earlier episode and other TV dramas. A case of mistaken identity is always a plot twist I like to see in Midsomer Murders, well worth a watch

Get Me to a Nunnery!

[ummajon2003 · 9/10 · 14 June 2021]

Vulgar opening scene as we see 2 teens having sex in the dirt (they will no doubt regret their poor choices as much as we regret having to witness them). A few more idiots take to doing idiot things, and there's our unfortunate set-up. But moving on to the Nunnery adds some charm to the atmosphere, thankfully. A beautiful, peaceful sanctuary with dignified characters-- more of this, please. Sister Catherine is a lovely character as are the other nuns, portrayed with a genuine respect. Here we learn that Kate, just like John, is a proud Atheist. It seems weird to have 2 main characters be openly anti-God. I mean, we know from the past that Tom and Ben don't fancy church on Sundays, but they at least left it ambiguous and weren't too openly smug about it. An Atheist can be just as self-righteous as any religious person, and here's a fine example. Anyhow, we see Mrs. Barnaby in her element, putting a bunch of school bullies in their place. There's still no believable suspect half way in, which I actually enjoy, since it adds to the mystery of it all. And oh what a tangled web we weave! Except for the first crass minute of the episode, I love it all! Almost perfect.

good but a very weak denouement

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 23 March 2016]

Well, I figure if I made it through "Night of the Stag," the previous Midsomer Murders episode, I can make it through anything.

"A Sacred Trust" concerns Midsomer Priory, which is a home to a small group of nuns. One of them, Mother Thomas Aquinas, is murdered by strangulation, and silver with a worth of 60,000 pounds is stolen.

These nuns have a few secrets, and one of them has a powerful motive. It turns out that the motive goes back many years. Amidst all of this, the priory was donated to the nuns two centuries earlier, and since there are so few nuns and it is hard to keep up, a priest, Father Behan, pressures them to sell it. After a few drinks he complains that they're "living in luxury." He is also murdered.

This story is fine, and the motive would have been fine if it hadn't hung on such a flimsy plot point. It was totally ridiculous. How could the person have been recognized by looking at a relative -- not even the person himself? It would have been hard enough to recognize the actual person. Absolutely awful.

These later shows had better rise in quality -- if not, I'm out.

9* episode after weak S14 start

[vitoscotti · 9/10 · 23 March 2022]

I'm down to a couple a year dry Neil Dudgeon MM mediocre episodes from 2 a week John Nettles thrillers. Huge writing upgrade here from start of season. Hopefully quality continues. On screen time of 4 recurring characters seemed cut down favoring non-recurring actors. I especially enjoyed stunning redhead Emma Davies' (Lauren Hendrid) beauty.