A Dying Art is the first episode of the eighteenth series of Midsomer Murders and originally aired 3rd February 2016.
A new sculpture park opens in the village of Angel's Rise. On its opening night, Brandon Monkford is found murdered beside one of the centrepiece sculptures. It transpires that after Brandon’s wife Alexandra had started a relationship with Daniel Fargo, Brandon had cut Alexandra and their two children from his will, leaving the sculpture park instead to Tony Pitt. There is fury in the village when Tony reveals all of his plans for the sculpture park. Tony is the next murder victim and is discovered near the sculpture park. Further mystery ensues when it emerges that Lance Orden, the famous artist believed to have created the sculptures, had plagiarised his ideas.
Tropes:
- Dead Guy on Display: The killer places the bodies of their victims as parts of sculptures on display in a sculpture park.
- Not In My Back Yard: The villagers were opposed to the Park and local, Brin Dunne, had formed VASP (Villagers Against the Sculpture Park).
- Passed-Over Inheritance: Victim of the Week Brandon Monkford had cut his wife Alexandra and their two children from his will, leaving the sculpture park instead to his groundsman Tony Pitt.
