Medieval Mysteries

DNF at four chapters. The premise was interesting to me but, while the prose is generally good, there were too many issues for me to continue.

The historical detail tends to be presented in the form of lists rather than being woven into the narrative: a list of theatre goers' jobs here, a list of clothing items there etc. which reads like research was done and then bullet points from the research were pasted in rather than incorporated.

The person behind the murder was obvious from the very moment it happened and the author doesn't entirely play fair; writing in 3rd person omniscient they tell us lies about how a character feels. I skipped to the last chapter to confirm and yes, it was the obvious culprit.

What really pushed me over the edge though was the sole gay character being presented as a child sex predator and having a passage dedicated to his attempting to groom/rape an 11 year old boy. The boy escapes but this was in the early going and presumably there was more to come. Reading the last chapter indicates this predator is still in the theatre company so apparently gets no sort of comeuppance. In any case, it was revolting and not something I can stomach reading any more of. ( )

Very enjoyable reread of a favorite series, fans of Shakespeare will enjoy the setting. ( )

I started reading this series several books in, but now I got a chance to read the beginning. Nicholas Bracewell has a murder, make that several murders, to investigate while keeping the players of Lord Westfield's Men on their marks. The setting is Elizabethan London and players must have a patron and all their plays must be approved by the Master of the Revels. After a member of the company is murdered and the prompt book of their newest play is stolen, Nicholas must try to discover who is trying to destroy their company. ( )

Absolutely terrible.

Glbt-interest tag: the sole queer character is a pedophile and child predator. Gender politics tag: female characters are whore (and thus abused or killed), widows (and thus noble), or married (and thus harridans). ( )