A Shakespeare and Smythe Mystery Shakespeare and Smythe are at it again in their third literary mystery romp set in the world of the Elizabethan theater. The plague is in town and the theaters are closed by royal decree, so even though fledgling playwright Will Shakespeare and would-be thespian and part-time ostler Symington Smythe are now fully ensconced members of a theater company, the two inadvertent shamuses of the stage world are once again, at least temporarily, out of work. To make ends meet, Smythe resorts to smithing while Will becomes a poet for hire involved with the affairs of a certain dark lady . . . until entertainment-starved London is rocked by an apparent crime of passion with all of the requisite elements of a Greek tragedy. But life is never as simple as a stage-bound construct, and soon the detective duo find themselves involved in an affair that makes. . . Much Ado About Murder