Book Review | The Shakespeare Secret – J L Carrell

The Shakespeare Secret

Format:	Paperback
Pages:	480
Published:	2008
ISBN:	978-0751540352

My Book Review Rating:

Synopsis

A modern serial killer – hunting an ancient secret. A woman is left to die as the rebuilt Globe theatre burns. Another woman is drowned like Ophelia, skirts swirling in the water. A professor has his throat slashed open on the steps of Washington’s Capitol building. A deadly serial killer is on the loose, modelling his murders on Shakespeare’s plays. But why is he killing? And how can he be stopped? A gripping, shocking page turner, The Shakespeare Secret masterfully combines modern murder and startling true revelations from the life of Shakespeare. It has been acclaimed as one of the most compulsively readable thrillers of recent years.

Review

I’m one of those people who judges a book by its cover – which is how I came to pick this book up – although I almost put it straight back down when I saw the mention of the Da Vinci Code on the front! I enjoyed that book but don’t want to waste time reading carbon copies. But this is about Shakespeare rather than Templar nights and the Holy Grail, so I thought I’d give it a go.

I was actually pleasantly surprised – yeah it bears a similarity to the Dan Brown tale – a search for buried treasure where the heroine gets crossed and double crossed along the way – only this time the conspiracy theories are based around the infamous Bard.

We join Kate Sinclair as she finds herself thrown into a treasure hunt – for a lost manuscript and Shakespeare’s real identity – while a twisted killer leaves a trail of bodies whose deaths reflect those of victims from Shakespeare’s plays.

I have to admit that I struggled at times with the academic references to events that occurred in the 1600s but Carrell does a good job of keeping the story moving at a good pace and keeping you guessing as to the real intentions of the characters that Kate encounters during her quest.

I’ve spent an enjoyable Sunday getting caught up in the adventure and would recommend the book – if you liked the Da Vinci Code but have had enough of the Knights Templar then this may well be right up your street! And if you’re not sure about reading it – I can see it hitting the silver screen at some point in the future.