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Book Review By Harriet Klausner
Time's Fool: A Mystery of Shakespeare by Leonard Tourney



St. Martin's, Jun 2004
ISBN: 0765303043

In 1603, The Dark Lady of sonnet fame contacts her former lover who immortalized her in his works, the highly successful affluent playwright Will Shakespeare. The great bard is excited with the upcoming rendezvous, but when the meet, he is shocked. The Dark Lady looks wretched instead of fetching and seems nearer death than the lure of life caused by her promiscuous lifestyle as syphilis has taken its toll. She demands money or she will expose Will to his wife and the aristocracy he courts.

However, a fire breaks out at the meeting location. Will and the Dark Lady flee, but her leap from the roof ends in her tragic death. Stunned by the deadly tryst, Will is next accused of killing a protégé with the motive to hide an illicit affair between them. With the help of Sir Robert Cecil, Keeper of the Privy Seal, he stays out of prison so that Will can begin his own inquiries, assisted by his spouse Anne.

Obviously, Shakespeare is the key figure in this solid Elizabethan mystery. He comes across as a fascinating multifaceted figure who cannot resist the lure of his youth, but also deprecatingly calls himself "Time's Fool" because he knows better.

Harriet Klausner



Plot & Themes
Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
descript. of violence and chases - 10 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 %
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status:
Motive of antagonist - revenge
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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