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 good thing, because no one in this production 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 Tom Barnaby is in that audience, and while he may lack certain skills as a theater critic, he's just the man to figure out who removed the tape from the 'prop' straight-razor, causing the star to slit his own throat downstage-center. With so many dramas playing out, there's no shortage of motives or suspects, including the star's embittered ex-wife and faithless widow, plus secret lovers and jealous understudies galore. Ms. Graham, a former actress, tweaks her collection of community-theater artistes and small-town drama queens with merciless delight, and the reader's only regret will be that, eventually, the curtain must come down on the final page.

The 2nd Inspector Barnaby Mystery