Five Star, Mar 2005, 25.95, 202 pp. ISBN: 1594142734 In Stratford upon Avon, Will Shakespeare, who works in his father's Glover shop, courts and marries Anne Hathaway. Over the next few years, they seem happy together though Will who studied law was bored. When he had an opportunity to join a traveling troupe, he leaves his spouse and children behind though he sends money and visits infrequently. Will's fame as a writer begins to grow, but on one of his trips home, his boyhood pal, the odious arrogant Richard Quiney, who tried to boorishly seduce his friend's wife Anne, is murdered. The corpse is found in the Shakespeare garden. The constable assumes Will killed the man in a crime of passion. Anne believes otherwise and is determined to prove her spouse is innocent. As the list of those with motives to kill the loathsome Richard seems to grow, almost as if the entire town and surrounding villagers had a reason to murder him, the killer watches Anne to insure she does not get to close to the truth. | ||
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? - 80% 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 - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30'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 |