The Creeper is the sixth episode of the twelfth series of Midsomer Murders and was originally broadcast on 27th September 2009.
DCI Barnaby finds himself in charge of investigating The Creeper, a man who has been entering peoples homes in the dead of night, after the Chief Constable becomes the latest victim. It all becomes more serious when after one of the burglaries, a man is found dead in his bed. The dead man is David Roper, a ghost-writer by profession who was staying with the Chettham family. They had spent the previous evening at the home of Jack Filby who now owned the Chettham estate, forcing the family to live in the dower house. Filby and Roper had a very loud argument after dinner with Roper, a reformed alcoholic, storming out of the house with a bottle of brandy in hand. He made it back to the dower house and was put to bed. The mystery grows when a second attendee at the same dinner is murdered and the Creeper visits the Barnabys in the dead of night, not to steal anything but to leave behind two clues. The discovery of a Chettham family secret, the second death and a bit of DNA testing not only leads to the identity of the killers but to the identity of The Creeper.
Tropes:
- Classy Cat-Burglar: When Barnaby finally identifies the Creeper, this turns out the be the case.
- Off the Wagon: David Roper is an alcoholic writer (played by Rik Mayall) who falls off the wagon when his asshole publisher (and former friend) rejects his book idea, and then hands him a bottle of 65-year-old brandy. He gets drunk, and several humiliations follow, ending in his murder.
- Staircase Tumble: This happens to Joyce while chasing the titular burglar, although she lives.
- Surprise Incest: Inverted; Childhood friends Freddy Chettham and Tallis Filby clearly like each other a lot, but haven't acted on their feelings — later explained by the fact, while they were raised separately, they believe they share a biological father. (Sort of a long story, but basically, Freddy's parents wanted to conceive but couldn't due to his father's sterility, so they came to an arrangement with Tallis' parents so her father would be the biological father, but his father would be on the birth certificate. The kids were told when they were old enough to understand.) But, perhaps unsurprisingly, secrets are revealed and it turns out they're not actually related after all. They both note that they're relieved, and share a smile and a final scene together that strongly hints at a Relationship Upgrade.
- Two Dun It: The killers turn out to be Elizabeth Chettham and her daughter-in-law, Isobel, killing to protect a family secret.
- Vorpal Pillow: How David Roper is killed. This instance is more realistic than many examples as he was drunk, drugged and there were two people holding the pillow over his face.
