The Croaking Raven: 1 (The Shakespeare Murders) - Guy Hale

Stratford-upon-Avon, May 1972

DC Toby Marlowe has just landed his dream posting but the quiet streets of Shakespeare's Stratford are about to suffer a reign of terror. A name from the past has returned, intent on revenge.

A series of murders go unsolved but Toby realises that the killer seems to be following the plot of Hamlet.

Can Toby and his boss, DS Fred Williams, find the killer before all the actors at the RSC are dead? The Croaking Raven doth bellow for revenge.

 

What did I think?

Guy Hale may well have come up with the most ingenious plot for a book!  The Croaking Raven is absolutely brilliant and although I'm not overly familiar with Shakespeare's plays, I loved spotting the clues that our clever killer has left behind.

If DC Toby Marlowe hadn't transferred to Stratford, I think the police (DS Fred Williams in particular) would have been beating up a lot of suspects and getting lots of fake confessions while the body count continued to rise.  Toby very astutely notices that the clues relate to Hamlet so the police just need to read the play to predict where the killer will next strike.  This killer is very clever though and is intent on revenge.

I loved everything about this book: the ingenious plot, the 1970s setting, the engaging and compelling writing and the wonderfully well-developed characters.  I think anyone who has read Shakespeare will pick up lots of references to the Bard's plays but even if you're only vaguely familiar with Shakespeare (like me), it's still a hugely enjoyable novel.

It's also interesting to take a step back into the past and see how different is it to today.  It doesn't seem that long ago (for me, anyway) but it's quite shocking to think how discriminatory people were.  Whilst we may have made leaps and bounds in tolerance, I think we've taken a step back in humanitarianism with our ability to wound others through thoughtless comments on social media.

 

Incredibly clever and surprisingly witty, The Croaking Raven is an exciting start to a new and highly unusual series.  Very highly recommended.

I received an ARC to read and review for the Love Books Tours readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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