Mask of Night

Shakespearean Murder #5

by Philip Gooden

When the Black Death strikes London, all the theatres are closed down by order of the Privy Council. The Chamberlain's Men, the theatre company Nick Revill is part of, takes up an invitation to play in Oxford. However, it seems that the plague has followed them - but not all deaths are as they seem.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical, British Literature

288 pages, Paperback

First published February 17, 2004

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

[Olwen White]

Although the identity of the culprit was hidden all the way through, once you find out who it is, the clues leap out of the pages at you. Well written and researched it is a captivating read.

[Luis Minski]

En 1603, mientras la reina Isabel agoniza y la peste comienza a hacer estragos en las barriadas de Londres, Shakespeare y su compañía marchan hacia Oxford, para representar Romeo y Julieta, pero allí, donde también luego llegará la peste, hay un misterioso asesino suelto.
Como bien se anuncia en la portada, nos encontramos con una novela (la quinta) perteneciente a la "Saga de crímenes y misterios shakespereanos".
Siempre es interesante leer una obra ambientada en otra época, y, sobre todo, vinculada a la vida y labor de uno de los más grandes y admirados autores. Y es ese sentido, la novela no defrauda, nos permite apreciar cómo eran las representaciones teatrales y la vida de los actores , y conocer más sobre el gran dramaturgo y su obra.
También hay una muy buena reconstrucción de la época, - como las peleas entre los estudiantes y los aldeanos , o la reacción de la gente ante la peste -.
El narrador y protagonista es un actor - devenido en detective - ; además se intercalan fragmentos, también en primera persona, hechos por el asesino.
Como relato de misterio, no está mal, hay una serie de crímenes, y luego los intentos de Nick Revill - el protagonista-, de dar con el criminal, y, al mismo tiempo, evitar ser su víctima , en una especie de juego del gato y el ratón, donde también, el avance de la epidemia, juega su parte.
Como punto negativo podemos mencionar que, por momentos la lectura se tornó lenta, y que, a mi entender, se desaprovecho la oportunidad de desarrollar una trama criminal esbozada en una parte de la trama, donde el argumento de Romeo y Julieta jugaba un rol importante.
https://sobrevolandolecturas.blogspot...

[Scott Wilson]

I've read 5 of the 6 books in the series and have enjoyed all of them. Mask of Night was my second favorite with the plague adding a new challenge to the characters. Nick and the Chamberlains men leave London in part due to the plague and because they have been requested to perform Romeo and Juliet as part of a wedding celebration. Shakespeare quotes and a murder mystery which all worked to provide an enjoyable read.

[Paula]

mask of night

An absorbing and interesting read. The atmosphere of Shakespeares England is brought convincingly to life.

I can’t wait for the next chapter in the Nick Revill series.

[Lee]

Great book. Loved it.

[Marfita]

First I quibbled about the cover (same as pictured). Then I read the art credit. Whoops! It's a detail of the funeral procession of Elizabeth I. I thought a plague costume would be more appropriate [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_...] and thought that was what was represented but badly. Wrong again! Still not sure why that funeral procession art was used. The death of Elizabeth I comes parenthetically at the end. This should not be a spoiler. I think everyone knows she died and you can look up the date (a mistake early on in this book - I got totally derailed).

A combination of the plague and the Lenten season closes down the Globe theatre and the Chamberlain's Company moves on to Oxford for a private gig and some public shows on the side. Nick is slated to play Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and a late substitution for Friar Lawrence (the sponsor of the private gig who wants to try his hand at acting) is killed (not much of a spoiler - Nick talks about it before it happens and it's mentioned in the jacket blurb). Presto, it's a locked room mystery! And a lovely young lady asks Nick's help to track down how her cousin is slowly being poisoned.

Again, the interesting part is the representation of how a play was put on in an inn yard, the hostilities of Town and Gown in Oxford, and other historical details. Plot bits just make me cringe. Oh, Nick, how could you think that this elaborate pretend-to-be-dead ruse would do anything but fail? It's The Lucy Show all over again, but instead of hiding behind the couch (as I did as a child), I had to put the book down and groan. And the Great Explanatory Interview with the murderer at the end is as tedious as it is in any mystery. Better is the rumination Nick does tying up loose ends with the logic provided by time and distance and discussion amongst his friends.

I totally get that you have to do a "howdunit" on something like a locked room mystery. There's a lot to explain away. One hopes (that is, I hope) that someone will find a better way to handle it.

[LJ]

MASK OF NIGHT (A Shakespearean Murder Mystery) – VG
Philip Gooden – 5th in series
Constable – London, 2004 – Hardcover
With the coming of Lent, the impending death of Queen Elizabeth and increasing deaths from the Plague, the acting company, The Chamberlain’s Men, has traveled to Oxford where it has been commissioned by Dr. Hugh Fern to stage a private performance of Romeo and Juliet. However, when the body of Dr. Fern is found dead in a locked room, actor Nick Revill doesn’t believe it’s suicide and begins linking it with other deaths which have been occurring.
*** Gooden offers a wonderful look into Shakespeare’s time. I was delighted that The Bard is a secondary character rather than the investigator, and that one does not need a great knowledge of Shakespeare or his plays to enjoy the book. It is a classic mystery with clues and suspense along the way. I loved the character of Nick Revill and didn’t feel hampered by having started the series late into it. This was the first I’ve read in this series, but have already ordered all the others.

[Claire]

Great little Elizabethan mystery, complete with William Shakespeare as one of the characters, and many details of the period incorporated into the tale.

[Michele]

Ugh! I kept reading thinking something just HAD to happen. Nothing! Nada! Nunca! Zip! Zero! What a waste of 6 hours! If I could give a zero, I would.

[Elizabeth Desole]

Yet another fun read. Although set in Shakespeare's time and the time of plague, it glosses over all of that to deliver a light murder mystery