Brian/Martin

This was a lovely thriller, again with a self-referential theme, albeit a ‘play within a play’, in that it seemed at first to be a conventional murder mystery, when in fact it concerned five actors who were ostensibly rehearsing for a performance in Italy; unfortunately, real murders start taking place in the same manner as in the play being rehearsed.

Brian is a less than successful businessman whose marriage is also somewhat unhealthy, but he is in Italy to seal the deal on a new venture that will turn their fortunes around; unfortunately, the villa in which they are staying appears to have been double-booked; then, my ‘wife’ is murdered, closely followed by me! Only when the first character to be ‘really’ murdered fails to appear for her cue, does the primary deception become apparent. Thereafter, the plot twists and turns, with plenty of ‘red herrings’, before the final thrilling revelation of the reason for the set-up.