The Queen's Head

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 show more 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. show less

Starting a new series set in Elizabethan times, The Queen's Head is not exactly an ordinary mystery.

Meet Nicholas Bracewell - the bookholder of the Lord Westfield's Men and an occasional detective (he just happens to be at the proper place at the proper time...). And if he is not illustrious enough, we have a whole set of actors - each of them almost comically and unbelievably weird.

The style takes a while to get used to - especially the conversations. But once you get into the book, even those exaggerated dialogs work and add to the tapestry of the novel. Being the first book in a series makes the Queen's Head a bit slow to start with - even for the style and the period. It picks up as the books progresses but the feeling that you are show more transported in another era where the Industrial Revolution is yet to happen remains - not only with the actions of the characters but with the storytelling itself.

Marston (one of the pseudonyms of Keith Miles) knows a lot about the Elizabethan times. And about the Elizabethan theater. And he is not afraid to use all that knowledge to set the scene for the novel or to show in excruciating detail the way the theater works. I am not convinced that the actors' weird behaviors were not exaggerated, but on the other hand - considering the times and the customs of the time - most of it can be believable. All the boasting and misadventures of all the main actors and the almost never ending complains of the rest of the group are moving the book closer to the comical genre than to the mystery one. But it does not get there.

Add to all that the three Queens' heads - the one that falls, the one that stays and the one that cannot be removed - and the book actually works. It might not be the best mystery ever written but it is a good period mystery -- with more emphasis on the times and the theater than on the mystery side. show less

A quick read, and a detailed (sometimes too detailed) portrait of the theater in Elizabethan times. The writing is a little lumpy - I think the author was more interested in showing off his knowledge than in good fiction style, but it smooths out as the mystery picks up. First in a series.

First of the Nicholas Bracewell mystery series, set in a theatrical company in Elizabethan London. Bracewell is the bookholder for Lord Westfield's Men, a responsible position in its own right even without the additional tasks taken on by Bracewell. Bracewell finds himself with an unexpected task of the worst kind when his friend and colleague, actor Will Fowler, is called in a tavern brawl. Bracewell is determined to find the killer, but has other equally urgent matters to deal with, not least of which is ensuring nothing goes wrong with the performance of a new play before the Queen herself. Jealous rivalries both within the company and with another company aren't helping matters...

It's an entertaining romp, but unusually for Marston, show more there were a couple of elements that could be problematic for many readers. They're historically accurate, but nevertheless they need flagging up. One is the portrayal of one of the senior actors as having a taste for pretty boys, and this being tolerated as long as he leaves the company's apprentices alone - which he doesn't. Given other things he's written I don't think Marston intended this, but it does come over as equating "homosexual" with "pedarest". The other is that the book does get into the head of characters with the strong anti-Catholic prejudices one might expect in this time period. show less

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.

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

historical mystery in Elizabethan England in which the detective is the manager of a theater company similar to Shakespeare's. I enjoyed it but somehow have not followed up the others in the series.