1. The Hammer of God

Lord of the manor Colonel James Bohun, a sadistic bully and chauvinistic womaniser, is widely loathed in his small English village. Despite being married, he openly flaunts his conquests and shows only disdain for the beliefs of his brother Wilfred, the local Anglican vicar. When James is found in the churchyard with his skull smashed by a single blow from a blacksmith's hammer, Father Brown, a guest of the vicar's, brings his sleuthing skills to the case.