According to hostess Diana Rigg, "The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: A Great Deliverance" is of the "cozy mystery" genre which she explains is similar to Agatha Christie novels and much like a good crossword puzzle. I'm not sure such comments are a credit to this film. However, "A Great Deliverance" is the first in a series of British mysteries from the pen of American writer Elizabeth George which pits the urbane Inspector and aristocrat Lynley and his trusty and contrastingly funky sidekick Barbara Havers (Small) against the wrongdoers of the Shires. A so-so mystery flick, this film tells of a young woman found catatonic and sitting with the decapitated body of her father. At issue, of course, is who did the dirty deed? As the film progresses we find an abundance of characters and some development of the male/female cop team all wound up in a convoluted plot which casually overlooks some obvious questions while making excursions into side plots all happening in the bucolic Yorkshire countryside. When all was said and done, I felt pretty cozy so perhaps Rigg was right. This film will be most appreciated by those who enjoy the "Murder She Wrote" TV fare with minimal action, sex, nudity, swearing, edge, grit, etc. Good stuff for those into tame, sanitized mysteries. (B)