Death of a Hollow Man

Death stalks a production of Amadeus in this second outing for Inspector Barnaby and Midsomer Murders. Too many notes, Mr. Mozart! Actors do love their dramas, and the members of the Causton Amateur Dramatic Society are no exception. Passionate love scenes, fits of ego, jealous rages, operatic reconciliations...put together, they're better than a paycheck, which is a good thing, because no one in this staging of Amadeus is getting one. However, even the most theatrically minded have to admit that murdering the leading man in full view of the audience is a bit over the top. Luckily, Inspector Barnaby is in that audience, and while he may lack certain skills as a theater critic, he's just the man to catch a killer. With so many dramas playing out, there's no shortage of motives or suspects, including secret lovers and jealous understudies galore. Inspector Barnaby is in his element, and so is Caroline Graham, a former actress, who tweaks her collection of community-theater artistes and small-town drama queens with merciless delight. The reader's only regret will be that, eventually, the curtain must come down on the final page.