A Shakespeare and Smythe Mystery
Shakespeare and Smythe are at it again in their third literary mystery romp set in the world of the Elizabethan theater.
The plague is in town and the theaters are closed by royal decree, so even though fledgling playwright Will Shakespeare and would-be thespian and part-time ostler Symington Smythe are now fully ensconced members of a theater company, the two inadvertent shamuses of the stage world are once again, at least temporarily, out of work.
To make ends meet, Smythe resorts to smithing while Will becomes a poet for hire involved with the affairs of a certain dark lady . . . until entertainment-starved London is rocked by an apparent crime of passion with all of the requisite elements of a Greek tragedy.
But life is never as simple as a stage-bound construct, and soon the detective duo find themselves involved in an affair that makes. . .
Much Ado About Murder
Review
An all-new romp in the Shakespeare & Smythe mystery series.
From the Back Cover
Praise for Shakespeare & Smythe
"In the ebullient spirit of the hit movie Shakespeare in Love , young William Shakespeare takes center stage as an aspiring playwright and sleuth in this lighthearted historical. . . . Literary gold." --Publishers Weekly on The Slaying of the Shrew
"Hawke has a sure hand, an eye for detail and character, and he mixes historical fact and fiction in an altogether delightful manner. This has the makings of an excellent series." --Booklist
"Warring theater companies, familial chicanery, villains by the yard, and Will and Tuck as bumbling heroes--it all provides a good-natured romp for audiences who wish they'd make a sequel to Shakespeare in Love." --Kirkus Reviews on The Slaying of the Shrew
" A word to the wise:A Mystery of Errors is a historical hoot. Hawke's plot is suitably complicated, the period touches are convincing, and the wit is contagious. A worthy debut for the Bard as a detective!" --Peter J. Heck, author of Death on the Mississippi and other Mark Twain Mysteries