An interesting book with a sophisticated plot. There were parts of the book I loved (the ciphers, ravens, and historical parallels), and other parts that left me a bit confused. ( )

Author's guest post at my blog:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2022/09/foodfic-please-welcome-jacopo-della.html

I received this book from my sister and brother-in-law as a gift. Otherwise I don’t know if I would have ever run across it. And yet it is an historical mystery which is a favourite genre for me. The fact it involves William Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, Guy Fawkes and Christopher Marlowe just adds to the enjoyment.
William Shakespeare is at the height of his writing career when he is approached by Guy Fawkes to write a play set in Scotland that involves witches. Fawkes and his conspirators want to use the play to incite the people of London to rebel against the King. Shakespeare goes to see the spymaster Thomas Walsingham who advises him to play along with the conspiracy so they will know what is being planned. He sends WS to Francis Bacon, head of the Ordnance Office (also known as Double O), to be equipped with new technology like a rapier with a pistol in the handle and a deck of playing cards containing various substances that can explode or poison or stun the senses. Meanwhile in Italy, Christopher Marlowe, who was a spy for Walsingham before WS, is living a dissolute life until his services are required. WS has lots of adventures following the conspirators who have aligned themselves with some witches in the Forest of Arden. He also writes Macbeth which is scheduled to be performed on November 5, 1605 at the Globe Theatre. If that date sounds familiar it is because it was also the date that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled thanks to Shakespeare’s spying. This is not quite the end of problems for London though. The witches bring their own rebellion to the capital and it takes the combined efforts of Walsingham, Bacon, Shakespeare, Marlowe and others to quell it.
I really enjoyed the portrayal of WS as a reluctant spy but I thought some of the attempts to make the story more like a James Bond thriller were overdone. Nevertheless, it was a fun read and I would recommend it to fans of light-hearted spoofs. ( )