The fiftieth Great Slaughter Talent Contest with a £500 prize attracts a record entry. The two favourites are Magician, Tony Smith (the Great Faldini), and 11 year old, Tina Tiny; the girl with the big voice. The head judge is Chief Constable Hector Lowsley. During the final heat Tony Smith is murdered during his Box of Death trick. Sister Boniface and Felix investigate as Sam absents himself. Smith, determined to win is uncovered, as a blackmailer and suspects include Smith's former partner fellow competitor Leonard Monk (Curly Cuddles), judge Jane Beaufort who was Debra Cadabra (Smith's assistant 10 years ago) and Sylvie Simmons, Tina Tiny's pushy mother. The discovery of a can of hairspray leads Sister Boniface to the murderer.
A solid episode with all the winning ingredients involved - there's a lot of comedy in this one with Tom Thomas being one of the people taking part in the talent contest. He reads a Shakespearean sonnet!! There's a fair of suspects who had plenty of motive to kill the magician. The ending came as a surprise and was a bit sad.