Customer Reviews

The Slaying of the Shrew

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Second in the series, this novel picks up right where A MYSTERY OF ERRORS left off. Symington "Tuck" Smythe is unsure of his role in the company of players that he and Will Shakespeare have joined, and he is doubly vexed by the state of his romance that occupies nearly all his waking thoughts. When the players are contracted to provide theatrical entertainment as part of a large wedding pageant, Tuck "volunteers" Will into becoming the writer of their production, a role that may "make or break" him as a major talent. The only problem is that a series of murders turns the event of the year from a marriage celebration into a funeral.

I found this tale far more satisfying that the first in the series, particularly as the language used by characters is, for the most part, far more convincing. The Elizabethan-period politics, familial chicanery and villainy all make for a delightful mix of historical fact and fiction. Light-hearted, humorous and convincing in plot-I can highly recommend this for your shelf of historical mysteries.

Tuck Smythe and his friend Will Shakespeare along with the Queen's Men, their theater company, are heading out of London to avoid the plague, and find a commission to play at a wedding. It should be a wonderful opportunity. Shakespeare has a chance to show his first play, and Tuck can visit with Elizabeth who serves as maid of honor to the bride. What could possibly go wrong? When the bride arrives, apparently murdered what can go wrong is frightfully apparent. Worse, the death of the shrewish older sister frees all the suitors to pursue the lustful Blanche--including the least scrupulous.

Author Simon Hawke writes with a light comic touch, yet with an insight into young love and accurate although not overdone historical insights. Fans of William Shakespeare will get a laugh out of Hawke's ideas of where some of his ideas, and many of his well-known lines emerged. Protagonist Tuck is an interesting and likable hero with an ambition to be an actor almost as strong as his stage fright. The twists and turns of this mystery combine Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew with Romeo and Juliet and a bit of dozens of other plays.

Although it is a short novel, Hawke did spend a fair number of pages repeating what he'd already told the reader--clearly something to be avoided although, in the case of THE SLAYING OF THE SHREW, a fault that can easily be overlooked in the high quality and smooth writing.

One would think that having succeeded in his quest to come to London and to actually finding work with the Queen's Men (a couple of walk on roles so far), and having met the love of his life, Elizabeth Darcie, Symington Smythe, affectionately known as 'Tuck,' would be over the moon. You'd be quite wrong. To begin with his lady love is the only daughter and heiress to her father's considerable wealth, and much as Henry Darcie is grateful to Tuck for all that he's done for both him and Elizabeth (faithfully chronicled in "A Mystery of Errors"), he's not likely to allow Tuck to court Elizabeth, especially given that Tuck is a struggling actor. And here we come to the crux of Tuck's real woes: after having gone through so much in order to realise his dreams of becoming an actor, Tuck discover to his chagrin that he lacks the necessary talent to become a truly valuable player of any company!

As the plot of "The Slaying of the Shrew" opens, the plague has hit London, and most companies are taking to the road because the playhouses are being closed. This is not a usually profitable season for the players, but fortunately for the Queen's Men they have asked to perform at the country house of a rich merchant, Godfrey Middleton, at his eldest daughter's wedding celebrations. And Tuck is relieved to discover that he has been included group of players that will be going to Middleton's estate, even if it is not as a player. However his relief is tempered because of a falling out he has with Elizabeth over the role of women and the unhappy situations that many of them find themselves in. Dejected with the manner in which they last parted, Tuck keeps an eye out for Elizabeth when he arrives at Middleton's estate (she is to part of the bride party), and when he spies her in the garden, he follows her and overhears two men planning to con Middleton's younger daughter, Blanche, into marriage. Tuck is all for blowing the whistle, but his friend, William Shakespeare, cautions him against it, pointing out that Tuck actually knows very little of the actual plot at all. And then tragedy strikes when the bride suddenly dies before she can take her vows. Did she die because of some malady, or was she poisoned as Shakespeare believes? Were the two men that Tuck overheard responsible for the unfortunate girl's death? And why is Elizabeth behaving so very, very cagily? Tuck is determined to find the answers to all these questions.

"The Slaying of the Shrew" is a tremendously fun read. From the title, and because we're all familiar with Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," I'll not be revealing any plot spoilers by stating that the Middleton bride gets murdered. After that point in the mystery however, Simon Hawke does a wonderful job of keeping the reader's attention with plot twists, tight pacing and a brilliantly executed story. I enjoyed "The Slaying of the Shrew" a lot better than I did "A Mystery of Errors," and if this mystery novel is anything to go by, future Tuck and Shakespeare mysteries should make this a series to read and collect! I especially like the manner in which Hawke has incorporated bits form Shakespeare's plays into these mysteries; and I like the bits that deal with the history of the Elizabethan theatre and the personages involved at the time.

Definitely one of the better mystery novels of the year.

"The Slaying of the Shrew" is the second Shakespeare and Smythe mystery. Although second in the series, the novels could stand by themselves as intricately clever mysteries that do not rely upon having read the previous story. While Hawke does indulge in some 'this is what happened previously' to flesh out the characters' backgrounds it doesn't distract from the story at hand.

"The Slaying of the Shrew" finds the Queen's Men in the midst of the plague season, traveling the countryside on tour. Their first commission is to play at the highly staged wedding of Sir Godfrey Middleton's daughter Catherine, a shrew by reputation, naturally unhappy with an arranged marriage. Tuck Smythe immediately finds himself involved in scandal when he overhears a plot in which he deduces that Catherine shall be murdered so that the murderer may marry the younger daughter,Blanche,and inherit more money. His involvement in this intrigue naturally leads him to seek the help of his friend and roommate, William Shakespeare. Together they try to solve the mystery but not before several murders take place and serve to throw them off track.

The beauty of Hawke's mysteries is the smooth intermingling of humor and mystery. His fashioning of quotes from Shakespeare's plays as everyday bits of dialogue is delightful and pithy word play abounds in puns - one of Shakespeare's favorite devices. Hawke also combines elements from various plays in the plotline. Fans of Shakespeare will enjoy the characterization of Will, and the all too natural marriage of drama and mystery. I look forward to reading the other mysteries in this series.

The Slaying of the Shrew is another merry, lighthearted, devious mystery featuring Shakespeare and his friend Tuck Smythe--the second in the series--and the death of a shrew on her wedding day.

This shrew just happens to be the best friend of Elizabeth (the love of Tuck's life) and as their acting troupe, The Queen's Men, were supposed to perform at the wedding. . . Well, they find themselves immersed--yet again--in a mystery.

The dialog is snappy, peppered with Shakespeare-isms, making an enjoyable read. The plot borrows from Shakespeare's plays in a teasing way that makes it doubly fun for fans of the Bard. I found the mystery to be intriguing and well planned, and enjoyed it to the end.

Aficionados of Elizabethan England, or mysteries, or both will enjoy this one. I, myself, am looking forward to the next in the series, to see if Hawke continues his excellent, good-natured Bard barbs.

I could not believe how much more enjoyable this book was than the first one (A Mystery of Errors). I really didn't care for that one because I thoughtit was disjointed and a bit silly. This book is entirely different! It's a rollicking good romp in Elizabethan England. I find Hawke's razor wit very enjoyable. Will and Tuck are wonderful protaginists and their very differences make them a very effective duo. Tuck bumbles around in his innocent way and usually ends up precipitating catastrophic acts. Will sits back and observes and acts as a foil for Tuck. This book has more ups and downs in it than a roller coaster and the ending will surprise you as it certainly did me. I also like how Hawke throws in beloved Shakespeare quotations throughout the story. It's like coming back to an old friend. In this book Tuck and Will set out to find out who killed "the bride" - the shrew in this instance- on the very day of her wedding. They uncover conspiratorial plots, love trysts and more murder as they do so. I really enjoyed this book. It's the most fun I've had since I read my last Lindsey Davis book.

The best part about this book is Hawke's sharp-edged dialogue. For those who want to read Shakespeare but are daunted by sixteenth century English, Hawke retains all the inimitable bard's wit in a modern format.

It's the exciting second episode of Simon Hawke's William Shakespeare-Tuck Smythe
medieval mystery series. As with the previous, "Much Ado About Murder", "The Slaying of
the Shrew" is a fun read, a story of derring-do, intrigue, comedy, romance, and, of course,
murder!

William Shakepeare is our hero, dropping couplets here, blank verse there, a little more
iambic pentameter over yonder, and on center stage. What a clever--and readable--idea for a
stage-worthy series!

As has been noted, much has been written about the Bard, but no one has made him out
to be an Elizabethan solver of murders as American author Hawke has.

One does not need to be a Shakespearean authority to enjoy the mystery. Hawke laces
his prose with often clever references to the original Shakespeare, tossing in a lines here and
there that, of course, "found" their way into one or more of the original plays.

In this series, Shakespeare has not yet completed one play, although he has now
discovered he can at least pay the bills by writing sonnets on commision. Young twenty-ish
Will works as a minor actor for the Queen's Men. Shakespeare's friend Symington Smythe II
(Tuck), Shakespeare, and the entire troup have been hired to stage the entertainment for lavish
wedding of a noble's daughter, named Catherine. Indeed, she's the byword for "shrew"; alas,
though, the best laid schemes of mice and the Queen's Men often go awry, and this is no
exception. Catherine is found murdered and Hawke's rescuers and mystery-solvers leap to the
case.

There plenty of suspects and it takes the brilliance of Shakespeare to narrow the field and
eventually solve the case.

Solving the case, of course, really isn't the lure of this book (or the series). Just getting to
know William Shakespeare is the fun part (although, of course, readers should remember that
his is purely fiction!).

But the play's the thing, wherein they're bound to catch the conscience of the thing,
and through diligence, brilliance, and cleverness, well, all's well that end's well, to coin a
phrase.

Indeed, "The Slaying of the Shrew" is a delightful book, whether one is versed in
Shakespeare or not. Kudos to Hawke for creating such a series and here's to future episodes.
(Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)