A Climate of Death is the fourth episode of the twenty fourth series of Midsomer Murders.
Sleepy Goodman's Land, known as the greenest village in Midsomer, is bought by a Texas oilman. Some villagers are very upset that a Texan will be ruining their eco village. Also at stake is the ownership of the village. Then people are killed. DCI Barnaby and DS Winter must connect the clues to solve the grisly murders.
Tropes:
- 2xFore: While walking through the cemetery, Winter gets hit over the head with a length of wood and knocked out.
- Accidental Murder: A flashback reveals that Dougie Duke's death was the result of the killer hurling a large stone at his head during a fit of rage.
- Boulder Bludgeon: A flashback reveals that Dougie Duke's death was the result of the killer hurling a large stone at his head during a fit of rage.
- Camera Sniper: A blonde walks out of the Green Man wearing a trench coat, looking at her phone and arranging her hair. Someone is taking photos of her. She puts on her helmet and gets on a scooter. Someone follows her on a bike. The blonde girl arrives at the edge of town on the scooter and someone still shoots photos of her. She hops in a beat up old truck and drives off leaving a cloud of smoke.
- Dead Animal Warning: Rooster Harlin returns to his room at the pub to discover that someone has deposited a dead rat on his bed.
- Discreet Drink Disposal: Sarah is on a health kick and has John drinking a disgusting green juice. Barnaby offers the green juice to Winter, who passes. Then Barnaby waits until Sarah is out of sight and dumps the green liquid in the bushes.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The killer murders Danny Tarleton, the first Victim of the Week, by impaling him with a weather vane.
- In the Hood: The killer wears a voluminous hooded black anorak to conceal their identity.
- Murder by Mistake: Aldo snatches the chili Rooster is about to eat at the competition and and stuffs it into his own mouth. However, the killer has soaked the pepper in enough capsaicin to induce a fatal heart attack.
- Tap on the Head: Winter gets hit over the head with a length of wood, knocked out and dragged across the cemetery to a tomb, but wakes up and is absolutely fine.
- Tampering with Food and Drink: The killer douses the first chili Rooster is supposed to eat at the Chili Competition with enough capsaicin to induce a fatal heart attack. However, Aldo snatches the chili off Rooster and eats it, resulting in a Murder by Mistake. With a dash of Hoist by His Own Petard because the capsaicin used to doctor the chili was Aldo's own that he'd been planning to rig the competition with.
