Death of a Hollow Man (1989)

In this book, Inspector Barnaby is investigating the death onstage of a member of the community theatre. Complicating matters are the fact that his wife is a member of the theatre also, as well as the usual irrelevant secrets that various suspects are hiding. Trenchant observations of "Theatah people" make this quite amusing for those who know some. ( )

When the leading man of Mrs. Barnaby's theater group dies by his own hand using the “prop” straight-razor, Chief Inspector Barnaby must interview people he considers friends to find the actual culprit. Definitely edgier than its television counterpart with Barnaby even dropping the f-word at one point, which also means that Troy is even more intolerant and thus funnier, so it's really to the book's benefit. For a mystery, its dilemma is very clever as well: those characters with a motive for the murder had no opportunity and the ones who had the opportunity had no motive. These books are certainly a lot less "cozy" than the TV-series although the characters are quite recognizable. ( )

A brilliant novel. All the characters are so... human - they have all the vices of 'regular' people - they are believable, likeable and, also, more understandable in their choices. I especially like Troy - a much more complex guy than in his portrayal in the TV series...

I couldn't put the book down. A fantastic read ( )

Back Cover Blurb:
A visit to a Causton Amateur Dramatic Society production is not Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby's idea of good entertainment, but loyalty to his wife prevails. And when the leading man takes his role too much to heart in a gruesome final act, Tom find his professional skills are called upon. ( )

Second Inspector Barnaby mystery, and very much a pleasure to read, with interesting, well-fleshed characters and a tightly woven mystery that I did not figure out until the end. In the local amateur theatre production, in which Barnaby’s wife Joyce has a small part, the obnoxious leading man does himself in with a straight razor that was supposed to be well-coated with tape to blunt it. Who had motive? Almost everyone in the company. Opportunity? Only a few people—and none of those had a very strong motive. Unless there’s a motive that no one suspects—but what? It takes a few offhand comments to jar Barnaby’s memory and then the puzzle pieces start falling together. Graham makes this ‘composite’ type book—where the story switches point of view many times between most of the characters—work well. I’ve read some books done in this style that I didn’t care for. It was refreshing to read a British police procedural where the police detective and all his nasty habits and personal problems was not the prime focus of the book—the mystery was. While Barnaby is a nice, stable character, we don’t know a whole lot about him just yet—but it’s okay. It’s not because he’s shallow, it’s just that the actual story, the suspects and the mystery take the forefront. We get heady glimpses into all their lives, Barnaby’s included. I liked this, a lot! ( )