Shakespeare's Skull: A Novel in Five Acts

by Sean McDevitt

In 2013, it was announced that the remains of Richard III, the final ruler of Great Britain’s Plantagenet dynasty, had at last been found. This declaration of discovery, made by the University of Leicester, created a worldwide sensation.

Researchers and scientists— upon hearing the news— decided they should set out to settle a centuries-old dispute: whether the grave at a certain Stratford church did in fact contain the remains of the man widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. However, in a classic case of unintended consequences, the investigators soon found themselves in a maelstrom of deceit, a blanket of nightmares, and a curtain of blood...

SHAKESPEARE'S SKULL: A NOVEL IN FIVE ACTS is a thriller and a work of conspiracy fiction from author Sean McDevitt.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Ebooks

219 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 19, 2018

About the author

Sean McDevitt is an independent author and award-winning actor. His latest work, the epic western JOHNNY MIME, was released in October 2025. McDevitt is also the author of THE WIZARD MURDERS, THE RHETORIC OF FAILURE, CALL ME ISMAY and a host of others.

Reviews

[A. L. Stroh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received this book as a Kindle download as a giveaway. Wow, loved it! It held my interest all the way through.

[Tom Godfrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of university professors, all from different disciplines, have combined to form an investigative team that uses ground-penetrating radar to assess what might actually be under the soil of the Shakespeare family's graves at Holy Trinity. The supposition has always been that the bodies were all placed in a family vault, but the radar shows this is not the case. Indeed, the graves are rather shallow, and there seems to have been some sort of disturbance where Will's head should be. Is the head missing? Who could have taken it, and when?
While the team debates all this, they are compelled to be addressed by a hostile, self-styled Bard expert, who tells them they are not to pursue the matter, but does so in a cryptic manner, purposely repeating certain words and phrases. They must be clues!
Indeed they are. The rest of the book reads like a treasure hunt, as they doggedly pursue the truth of all things Will. We also have tragedy, love stories, and much inventiveness.
The layout of the book is the same as Hamlet(well, it IS about a skull, and everybody in it has Shakespeare quotations galore at their fingertips. The group's leader had been something of a theatre person in his youth, and tells tales of his on-stage adventures. Well, okay.
This a fun read, and not to be taken seriously.

[Debi Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love fictional books wrapped around the rumours of Shakespeare. This is one of the best. Intense with humour interspersed. It is not a difficult read because McDevitt has made it within everyone's grasp, which is nice for a change.