The episode starts the usual exciting way with a murder. An elderly lady is genuflecting in front of a Madonna and child statue, when someone comes up from behind and stabs her. Now we cut to a theatre which is ruled over by a wicked an who abuses not just the people on stage, but apparently most who come into his life. The actors are putting on a performance of Amadeus. Barnaby's wife has a non-speaking part in it. We get to meet a whole group of people. A rather plain, timid stage manager and the guy who has a thing for her. A couple of gay men who run a bookstore. An insufferable, but quite talented actor who has the role of Salieri. He is married to a tart who is fooling around with someone else. He also has some connection to the murder victim. In a bizarre scene that sets everything in motion, he dies when someone who removes the protective tape from a straight razor prop. He accidentally cuts his own throat (I have to admit that this is just a bit far-fetched, but it is the significant event. As is usually the case, Barnaby and Troy must deal with a literal cast of characters. The question one asks from the beginning. We find out early that she has been donating enormous sums of money to animal causes. This one is a bit of a step down, but it's still pretty entertaining.
Review of Death of a Hollow Man
