The Pale Companion

Shakespearean Murder #3

by Philip Gooden

Midsummer 1601. Nick Revill and his fellow actors in the Chamberlain's Men are journeying across the Wiltshire Downs for a country-house presentation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It should be a pleasant, well-paid jaunt to celebrate a noble marriage, but things go wrong from the start. On a brief stopover in the market town of Salisbury, the locals make clear their dislike of actors by beating up Nick, a painful experience relieved only by his meeting with the local magistrate Adam Fielding—and Fielding's beautiful daughter Kate. When the Chamberlain's Men arrive at their destination, Instede House, they enter a tense family atmosphere. Lord Elcombe is pushing his older son into a marriage that the son seems set against, while in the nearby woods a wild man called Robin talks in riddles of long-hidden family secrets. In another quarter of the great estate lodges a traveling band of fire-and-brimstone morality players called the Paradise Brothers. The first death, when it occurs, looks like suicide, but Nick isn't so sure, and he finds himself investigating alongside the company of Adam Fielding. Then a second murder happens right under Nick's nose ... and turns the Dream into a nightmare.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Crime, British Literature, Historical Mystery, Historical, Shakespeare

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 2002

About the author

Philip Gooden lives in Bath. In addition to his Nick Revill series, Sleep of Death, he is the author of The Guinness Guide to Better English and the editor of The Mammoth Book of Literary Anecdotes. Each of his Nick Revill mysteries revolves around a Shakespearean play mirroring life - in Sleep of Death the play was Hamlet, in this offering it is Troilus and Cressida.
AKA Philippa Morgan.

Series:
* Shakespearean Murder
* Tom Ansell

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe three and a half stars, since as far as I could tell the depiction of Elizabethan life and the concerns of a company of actors (Shakespeare's Chamberlain's Men) were pretty accurate. There is some humor, and the main character is appealing. Because of the subtitle I was afraid that Shakespeare would be the detective, but to my relief he never appears, although his plays figure prominently. The general outline of the solution to the mystery is fairly clear fairly early, but it turns out to be more complicated than I expected. There were some surprising grammatical mistakes on the part of the author, and I got a bit tired of references to players "spouting" their lines; but overall a pleasant read.

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second of the Shakespeare mysteries I've read, although its third in the series (library didn't have #2). The protagonist Nicholas is a bit more advanced in his acting, now getting slightly more significant roles, and finds himself in the country not far from Stonehenge at a manor. The play this time is A Midsummer's Night Dream which is played outside as part of the festivities surrounding a wedding.

Naturally the deaths start to pile up, but also involved is a local justice named Fielding (an ancestor of the Blind Beak who created the Bow Street Runners centuries later?) who is a keen mind and analyst that I suspect will play a much more significant role in young Nick's future.

There's less wordplay and clever language in this one than the first, and the story didn't really move very well, but had a stronger feeling of plausibility and realism than the first. It was a decent tale, but not especially compelling.

[Gintautas Ivanickas · Rating 3 out of 5]

XVII amžiaus pradžia, Anglija. „The Globe“ teatro (aha, to paties) aktorių trupė atvyksta į garbaus lordo sodybą surengti pasirodymą šeimininko sūnaus vestuvių šventėje. Ir čia kad prasidė...
Žodžiu, turėtų būti istorinis detektyvas. Bet kaip detektyvas – ne kažko vertas, intriga yra, bet tai, kaip viskas atsiskleidžia... Istorijos irgi ne kažkas. Fono – minimaliai, ir jei ne Globe ir Viljamo jų Šekspyro paminėjimas – tai galima veiksmą švystelėti per porą šimtų metų bet kurion pusėn.
Tuo pat metu skaitosi lengvai, bet tai tiek to privalumo.
Labai skysti trys iš keturių.

[Stuart McIntosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as a Kindle version. The first half of the book was littered with typos, misspellings, abbreviations and editor's notes. I found this disappointing, distracting and so it loses a star for that.
I had enjoyed the previous two Nicholas Revill that I'd read a few years ago as paperbacks. The gap in years had diminished my memory of the characters and style of writing, but that quickly came back. I found this story ponderous and elongated, but we got there in the end and it was all nicely tied up. However, I'll deduct a star as it wasn't quite as good as the previous ones. I may still read others in the series though.

[Scott Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was my favorite of the series. Nick leaves London with Lord Chamberlains Men for Lord Elcombe's estate Instede House to perform A Midsummer Nights Dream as part of a wedding celebration. As with previous books in the series, trouble seems to find our protagonist Nick.

Along the way he is enchanted by the beautiful and spirited Kate Fielding and ends up helping solve a couple murder cases. You get suspense, intrigue, family dynamics and of course murder. I found the murder mystery part of this book to be stronger than the previous books but it is the Shakespeare woven throughout the story that I really enjoy. Dream is not one of my favorite WS plays but I still found the references to be entertaining.

The series is light and fun and plan on reading next Nick Revill story soon.

[Carol Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reading this author and although it was very well written it was too slow off the mark for me. I nearly gave up on it as nothing much seemed to be happening. The plot thickened in the second half with a few twists and turns so I stuck with it. Everything came together well and I enjoyed it in the end.

[Philip McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat labyrinthine plot of lovers, missing sons and strange deaths, against the background and reflecting some elements of a performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". But it all rattled along well enough.

[Keren Lilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great premise to feature an actor in Shakespeare's company. I enjoyed the period detail very much, but sadly didn't get really gripped by the plot.

[Madeleine Chamberlain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not terrible, just a bit clunky, and not special enough to devote my time to...

[Jean Sharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very slow start, lots of foreshadowing.
Decent book, once you're past the first hundred pages.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too slow-paced for me. They mostly talked about things happening but few actually did. The solution was initially unsatisfying but got better in the last bit.

[John Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have only recently read and enjoyed the first two books on this series and perhaps I shouldnt have come to this 3rd so soon. It may have been me but I found the first half of this book a bit slow and hard going. Maybe it was the way Nick narates his story or may be I had overdosed on the Chamberlains Men or may be it was just me.
On balance, I was pleased that I persisted as the last third made compelling reading as the plot unfolded. I totally missed a couple of hints that were given as to the final denouement.

I was very curious about the character of the Justice, Alan Fielding and his likeness to Sir John Fielding 'The Blind Beak', the man responsible for establishing the Bow Street Runners and the Magistrate of Bow Street just over a hundred years later as featured in The Blind Beak novels of Bruce Alexander and the Rawlins series by Deryn Lake and even the Ratcatcher novels of James McGee.

Before the 2/3rd stage in this novel it was going to be 2* but the last stage, the perhaps harsh downward marking of the first two and the thought that it might just have been me, make me think that a 3* here is fairest.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE PALE COMPANION (Amateur Sleuth-England-1600) – VG
Goodin, Philip – 3rd in series
Constable, 2002 - Hardcover
Actor Nick Reville and the Chamberlain's Men have been asked s to perform Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" as part of the wedding celebration at the country house of Lord Elcombe. Befriended by Robin, a ragged man living in the forest who claims himself a lord. When Robin is found hanged, Nick doesn't believe it's a suicide.
*** Goodin writes a very good story with a excellent, clever dialogue that feels true to the period without being over the top. The historic detail and settings are well done. But it's the character of Nick that really drives the story. I am a big fan of this series, and very much enjoyed this entry to it.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Pale Companion is a passable murder mystery. It is a slow-moving plot (the first murder isn't revealed till nearly half-way through the book) but the characters are interesting and colourful. In particular the main character of Nicholas Revill, an actor, is clever, and insightful, and has some great scenes.

The story itself has a bit of a surprise ending, but will certainly not fool those avid murder mystery buffs who try to figure out who dunnit.

Aside from the fact that A Midsummer Night's Dream is performed during the course of the story, there isn't much of Shakespeare about it, aside from Nick being an actor, and mentionin Shakespeare a few times. Still, the story is an interesting peek into the time with murder, deception, and a bit of romance thrown in for good measure.”

[Homerun2 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had previously read two others of this series. I just had trouble finishing this one. Everything about it seemed just ok. I admit I prefer the bawdier Edward Marston series, similar setting and time period.

[Sue Brattle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great, quick read with twists and turns till the last page. Beautiful descriptions of a Shakespearean English summer through the eyes of a troupe of actors visiting a manor house to perform at a wedding. Thoroughly enjoyable.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun murder mystery series, as told by Elizabethan actor Nick Revill. Historical details add to the plot making the mystery interesting. Entertaining.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light easy read, especially for Shakespeare and mystery fans.

[Luanne Castle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun mystery set in Shakespearean days, but with a decidedly modern feel.