A Grain of Truth is the third episode of the twenty-second series of Midsomer Murders and first aired December 26, 2022.
Chrissie and Tom Larkton have turned Larktons Mill in the village of Lower Blissingham into a trendy organic bakery in a restored mill that was thought cursed. The success of the mill has caused resentment amongst several villagers. Causton CID don't take the complaints too seriously until several people are dosed with a dangerous hallucinogenic.
Tropes:
- Animals Hate Her: Sarah Barnaby's old friend Vanessa comes to stay with the Barnabys for a week and she's so obnoxious that Paddy the dog flees the room when she shows back up at the end of the episode.
- Blackmail Backfire: The second victim is looking for the money from his blackmail scheme and then he is hit on the head by a bag of grain.
- Bookmark Clue: While searching Gabriel Arnson's house, Winter finds a photo of Chrissie Larkton being used as a bookmark. On the back of the photo, Gabriel has jotted down the various combinations of Chrissie's first name and his surname.
- Buried Alive: The first victim is trapped while cleaning out the grain silo and the door barricaded. The grain is dumped in from the top and they are buried alive.
- Mrs. Hypothetical: The male version. While searching Gabriel Arnson's house, Winter finds a photo of Chrissie Larkton being used s a bookmark. On the back of the photo, Gabriel has jotted down the various combinations of Chrissie's first name and his surname.
- Mushroom Samba: Chrissie and Denise suffer hallucinations from rolls made with ergot-infected mixed seeds.
- Stalker with a Crush:
- Tom Larkton is being pursued by a London journalist named Lara Milton who more or less stalks him and blackmails him into a relationship. They had a prior relationship, but he broke it off and his getting back together with her seems a bit unwilling on his part.
- The killer turns out to be Gabriel Arnson, the Larkton's miller who has been pining after Chrissie for upwards of two decades. He's been bumping off people who threaten or harm Chrissie as a way of "protecting" her. Barnaby and Winter eventually discover the killer has a shrine to her in his basement.
- Stalker Shrine: Gabriel Arnson has one to Chrissie Larkton in his basement.
- Straight Gay: Both Bobby Cignoni and Nathan Duncroft are both this, and they are secretly lovers.
- The Unfavorite: Bobby Cignoni's mother doesn't even bother to hide the fact that she loved his late brother Michael far more than him. This especially awful considering that Michael was a sex pest who died in the process of trying to rape Chrissie Larkton.
