The story begins with Sir Paul Berowne (Andrew Steel) standing by the canal. He utilizes his key to enter St. Matthew’s Church in Paddington. He stares frightenedly. Back on the streets, garbage is strewn everywhere. Miss Wharton (Tilly Vosburgh) is walking with a young boy, Darren Wilkes (Sami Amber). Miss Wharton is surprised when she utilizes her key to unlock the door, Sir Paul previously unlocked. She thinks Father Barnes unlocked the door. She gives Darren 10p for the Lady Virgin before he spots another coin and picks it up. She knocks on a door several times, calling for Father Barnes. She enters the room, where she sees something that frightens her terribly. Darren stares into the room while she tries to encourage him to move away.

DCI Adam Dalgliesh (Bertie Carvel) arrives at St. Matthew’s Church. He is greeted by DS Charles Masterson (Jeremy Irvine). They discuss Sir Paul’s affair with Jeannie Travers, a girl who worked in his house. Jeanie was found in the Thames nude. Sir Paul and a tramp, Harry Mack are disguised as a murder/suicide. Mack has an instrument in his hand. Dalgliesh opens a diary lying on the floor. DS Masterson said, “If the tabloids are right, Sir Paul’s been a naughty boy.” He believes Sir Paul tried to burn the diary to hide his dirty secrets.

DS Kate Miskin (Carlyss Peer) and Dalgliesh interview Miss Wharton. She says the light was on and she did not enter the room. Darren confirms he did not enter the room and never did anything wrong.

Dalgliesh interviews Father Barnes (Jim Norton). Father Barnes identified Sir Paul whom he had met three weeks prior. Sir Paul met with Farther Barnes to retrieve a key to the vicarage. He returned the key to Father Barnes several hours later but returned a day or so later to ask if he could spend a night in the church. Father Barnes says he had seen Sir Paul on the news, regarding the death of Jeanie. Harry Mack stayed outside the church, even though Father Barnes had gotten him a Hostel room. He describes him as being “cussed” but not violent.

Dalgliesh and DS Miskin discuss the case. Miss Wharton does not know much about Darren who she picked up on the canal. He began following her and waited on her at the canal. Dalgliesh sends DS Miskin to contact the next of kin. DS Masterson says he could do it. Dalgliesh orders him to take a statement from Father Barnes and take Darren home. He says he is useless with kids and Miss Wharton had been dealing with him.

Dalgliesh continues the investigation. The corner says Harry Mack is not the perpetrator. He had not washed his hands for days. He says Sir Paul’s head was pulled back and throat slashed. Harry Mack’s hand holds a razor. The corner Miles Kynaston (David Pearse) still does not believe he is the killer or committed suicide. There is too much blood in his hand. Harry Mack was murdered, and Sir Paul may have committed suicide. The victims died between 7 and 10pm the previous evening. Sir Paul may have been surprised by the killer.

Dalgliesh arrives at the Campden Hill House. He meets DS Miskin and the housekeeper Miss Matlock (Laura Elphinstone.) He is sorry for her loss, which she says was not hers. She was fond of Sir Paul. They go upstairs to meet with Lady Barbara Berowne (Lily Sacofsky), Lady Lavinia Berowne (Jane Lapotaire), Stephen Lampart (James Cartwright), and Dominic Swayne (Fra Fee). Lady Lavinia asks if he committed suicide. Dalgliesh asks if he had any enemies. Lady Lavinia says he was a politician. He had no personal enemies.

Paul’s mother, Lady Lavinia last saw him at 8am the previous morning. He had an appointment at 10am.

DS Masterson is looking for Darren’s parents. They enter the apartment, and his mom is out.

Dalgliesh tells Sir Paul’s family he spent the night at St. Matthew’s. Lady Lavinia was unaware of him staying at St. Matthew’s. He resigned as an MP several weeks prior due to party leadership differences. He tells them about Jeannie Travers. Lady Lavinia denied the stories in the newspapers, which she describes as “gutter press.” She calls Jeannie a “failing actress”. Dominic says they were friends and actors. Paul’s wife, Lady Barbara offered Jeannie a job cleaning at the home.

Lady Barbara becomes easy when she sees Sir Paul’s diary. Lady Lavinia says he kept his diary in the study, never on his persons. Lady Barbara begins to cry, saying she doesn’t understand. Stephen Lampart comforts her.

DS Masterson makes Darren some cereal. He talks to him about what he saw at the vicarage. He says he hasn’t done anything wrong. DS Masterson tells him he is his “chief suspect” and if he finds out Darren is holding back anything, he will be in trouble. He leaves Darren’s mother his business card before leaving.

Miss Matlock shows Dalgliesh where Sir Paul kept his diary. She says they hadn’t seen the diary in a few days. She last saw Sir Paul at 9:15am. She doesn’t think he returned during the day. She says Dominic came to see her around 6pm the previous evening. They are friends. He came over to watch TV and take a bath, there isn’t one in the house, he is staying in. He left around 10pm.

DS Miskin tells Dalgliesh how Lady Barbara and Lady Lavinia respond to the death of Sir Paul. Lady Lavinia went very quiet and said, “After the first death, there is no other.” Dalgliesh says it is a quote from a Dylan Thomas poem. The quote means Lady Lavinia must have already lost someone she loved profoundly.

Sir Paul had inherited his position as a junior Treasury minister from his brother, Sir Hugo who was shot in Northern Ireland after Bloody Sunday. Sir Paul’s first wife died in a motor vehicle accident. He was the driver but was later cleared of any wrongdoing. Stephen Lampart had a negligence case in his maternity clinic. They watch a news segment with Sir Paul discussing the death of Jeannie. She was working as a cleaner in the Berowne home. On March 28, the family was hosting a birthday party for Barbara. Jeannie who was pregnant was found in the River Thames dead.

DS Miskin says the corner reported some bruising on Jeannie’s upper arms and shoulders. He believed they may have been trauma from an attempt to remove her from the water. Sir Paul did not attend the party. Dominic Swayne was the last person to see Jeannie alive. He resigned after Jeannie’s death without needing to.

Dalgliesh returns to the Campden Hill House to interview the driver Gordon Halliwell (Patrick Regis). He says the last time he saw Sir Paul was when he was leaving the home the previous morning. He works for Lady Lavinia, not Sir Paul. He had only driven Sir Paul on a few occasions. He left the home the previous morning at about 10am. He went to help Lady Lavinia to the car. They returned at 6pm. He is evasive throughout the interview. Halliwell served in the Coldstream Guards under Sir Hugo. He left after his death. He was not at Barbara’s birthday party. He doesn’t know the father of Jeannie’s unborn baby.

DS Masterson tells Dalgliesh he had him down for babysitting duties. Dalgliesh says we work as a team. He asks DS Masterson if Miskin being a woman, or the color of her skin bothers him. He smirks as Dalgliesh says he will not tolerate prejudice. He says as long as you trust her.

Dalgliesh returns to St. Matthew’s. Father Barnes says there are three keys to the west door and one to the main door. He told Sir Paul to look the west door overnight. Sir Paul looked “haunted” and in search of peace.

DS Masterson is at a pub when DS Miskin walks in. He invited her to join him at the pub. She was on the force at Dorset for six years. He asks her if Dalgliesh took a fancy to her. She thinks he just wanted a woman on the team. He smirks and asks her about her mom and dad. She cancels the drink DS Masterson bought her. She is upset.

Darren is in his room while his mother is having sex. He examines the coin he found at the church.

Dalgliesh meets with the corner who says the attack was from behind. Both Sir Paul and Harry Mack were murdered by a right-handed assailant. They were alive with their throats were slashed.

Dalgliesh meets with Masterson and Miskin at the crime scene. He believes Sir Paul knew his killer. She says it must be someone with access to the Campden Hill House. He believes the killer went into the washroom, removed his coat, and donned gloves before killing Sir Paul. Harry Mack walks in and sees the killer and he is killed.

Dalgliesh and DS Miskin visit Stephen Lampart’s maternity clinic. The pregnant women bring back thoughts of his wife and baby. They meet with Lampart and ask him about his Monday night dinner reservation. He asks if they are looking at him or Barbara as a suspect. The reservation was at 8pm at the Black Swan in Hampton, where Jeannie drowned. Lady Barbara arrived at the maternity clinic around 5pm and they had coffee. He has an apartment above the maternity clinic. They left to go to the restaurant at 7:15pm. He says the doorman, Henry, or Harry saw them.

DS Masterson meets with Dominic. He recently picked up some TV roles. He describes his situation as “artistic poverty.” He appeared shocked that Sir Paul was murdered. He was at the Campden Hill House Monday night when Sir Paul was murdered. He failed an audition and went to Miss Matlock after 6pm and left at 10pm. He like Sir Paul as a brother-in-law. He wants to know if all the questions are about Miss Matlock’s brother.

Dalgliesh and DS Miskin continue to interview Lampart. He has been staying away from Campden Hill House but not Lady Barbara.

Dominic tells DS Masterson Sir Paul was a barrister before an MP. Miss Matlock’s father was up on a murder charge. Sir Paul messed up the defense and her father went to prison, where he committed suicide. He blamed himself for her father’s death and invited her to work at the Campden Hill House. Dominic says Miss Matlock does not bear a grudge against Sir Paul.

Lampart stopped resuscitation efforts for Jeannie at the River Thames. Dominic says he and Jeannie didn’t know about her pregnancy. Sir Paul was not Jeannie’s type. Jeannie had noticed Halliwell’s pent-up masculinity, but he didn’t think she had an affair with him.

Dalgliesh and DS Miskin arrive at The Black Swan, where he meets with doorman Henry Yates (Kieran O’Reilly). He says Lady Barbara and Lampart arrived around 8pm and left around 11pm. He was there the night Jeannie drowned. He says his boss alerted Lampart of Jeannie’s drowning because he is a doctor. Lampart and Lady Barbara were preparing to leave the restaurant when they were alerted of Jeannie’s drowning. Lampart asked to have his car brought around. Henry says he thought Lampart had a driver who usually sits in the kitchen. DS Miskin asks him if the driver was Halliwell. He isn’t sure.

Dalgliesh and DS Miskin arrive at the Campden Hill House to meet with DS Masterson. He says the black Mercedes was spotless because Halliwell cleaned it. Lady Lavinia asks what is happening. Dalgliesh says a witness spotted a similar car sitting in front of St. Matthew’s the night Sir Paul was murdered. She denies it being Halliwell because she spoke with him. No one else drove the Mercedes. They ask for Halliwell’s ex-wife’s address and confront him about being at The Black Swan the night Jeannie died. He lied about being there. Lady Lavinia threatens them with her solicitor. He isn’t arrested.

Dalgliesh, DS Miskin, and DS Masterson watch the house to see if Halliwell leaves. He calls in a background check for Halliwell. DS Miskin and DS Masterson are ordered to watch the front of the home. He tries to joke with her, but she isn’t having it. Sir Paul’s vehicle pulls out of the driveway onto the road. Halliwell arrives at The Black Swan to have it out with the doorman Henry. He is attacking Henry when DS Masterson intervenes. Dalgliesh tells the men they are in it together. Henry tells Halliwell to tell them or he would.

Halliwell says Sir Hugo “Wasn’t your usual top brass, he was one of them.” They were on a week’s leave before he died. He introduced them to Barbara Swayne on a night out. He was smitten with her. Sir Hugo dies then Sir Paul’s wife dies in a car crash, with him at the wheel. He walks away. Sir Paul introduces Barbara as his finance three months later. Halliwell says she didn’t care which one she married as long as he had “Sir” in the front of his name.

Halliwell says he investigated her. Lady Barbara and Lampart were raised in Walthamstow to a drunken mom and no dad. DC Masterson asks him if he thinks Sir Paul killed his first wife. He says there is no proof. Sir Paul was at The Black Swan the night Jeannie died. He was soaked and walking toward the carpark and 10 minutes later an alert was issued about Jeannie. Halliwell is protecting Lady Lavinia. He says Lady Barbara and Sir Paul are not who they think they are.

Miss Wharton and Father Barnes talk about murder keeping people away. Darren is buying fish with the coin he found in the church. Father Barnes is locking up the church. Miss Wharton is paranoid as she walks home. Father Barnes hears a thudding at the door. He opens it and begins yelling, “What are you doing here, what are you looking for.” He groans and falls to the floor, as footsteps are running away when the episode comes to an end.

Dalgliesh Review

Another great murder mystery. The acting is superb and glad to see Jeremy Irvine back. He always knows how to cheer a glim event. How he deals with his job is much different than Dalgliesh. Sami Amber did amazingly well for such a young lad. While I thoroughly enjoyed the episode, I was taken aback by some of the dialogue. When Dalgliesh asked Masterson if he had a problem with Miskin’s gender and skin color. “I will not tolerate any prejudice”, it was a disappointing moment in the show. It seems the writers threw it in to satisfy the politically collect group. It was obvious, Masterson was annoyed with Miskin because she was given orders that were normally his. Maybe his job felt threatened, but the woke dialogue was a big disappointment. The episode deserves a 7.

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