Bullets for Macbeth

Hilary Quayle Mysteries #3

by Marvin Kaye

Hilary Quayle and her assistant, Gene, are asked to take on the publicity for an extravagant production of Macbeth to premiere at Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum. Hilary had known the director many years ago in summer stock. Events proceed as usual in the theatrical world -- a world fraught with the hectic, the impassioned, the absolute certainty that nothing will be ready by opening night, and the absolute drive to belie that certainty. And on the night of the technical/dress rehearsal all efforts seem to be paying off with a rather splendid production -- until one of the corpses turns out not to be acting, and the gunshot during the blackout turns out to be no flamboyant anachronism. Hilary suspects "the play's the thing" and studies the text and old sourcebooks, her trail finally taking her to the Folger Library in Washington, D.C. Gene, meanwhile, pursues the problem in more traditional fashion. His investigations leads through New York's glamorous and less than glamorous theatrical circles. The conclusions and solutions they find will surprise everyone. Bullets for Macbeth is an exciting puzzle operating on several levels for the reader who enjoys good and intriguing mysteries.

Genres: Mystery

187 pages, Paperback

First published December 19, 1976

About the author

Marvin Nathan Kaye was an American mystery, fantasy, science fiction, horror author, anthologist, and editor. He was also a magician and theater actor. Kaye was a World Fantasy Award winner and served as co-publisher and editor of Weird Tales Magazine.

Reviews

[Mello!! · Rating 3 out of 5]

This may be one of my favorite murder mysteries I've read in quite some time. the mystery element had me hooked, and the payoff was interesting. I enjoyed the analysis of who Shakespeare's third murderer could be; spending all my years believing it to be Macbeth, I enjoyed the alternative ending.

that being said, 90% of the characters in this novel drove me up the wall. physically annoying me so much that I'd have to set the book down. the characterization was incredibly off. For that fact, I can't say I'd personally ever pick it back up.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilary Quayle and her assistant Gene, of Hilary, Ultd., are asked by an old friend of Hilary's to manage the publicity for an elaborate production of Macbeth scheduled to open at Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum. It's going to be quite a job--especially since the director and producer have waited until practically the last minute to settle on publicity. But it becomes even more of a job when Hilary and Gene wind up looking for a present-day murderer as well as the identity of Banquo's third murderer.

Shakespearean scholars had long debated the latter and it seems like a long-shot that our publicity folks will solve the puzzle--but they have a more pressing reason do so than all those scholars did. Michael Godwin (the old friend and director of the production) had come up with a new theory on who the third murderer was and planned to reveal his choice during the production. He claimed that there was textual evidence in the play itself that supported his theory. He kept his plan secret from everyone in the company--practicing in secret with the actor who was to play the part. When Michael Godwin (the old friend and director) is shot and killed during the dress rehearsal by what appears to have been the third murderer, solving the identity of Shakespeare's third murdered will most likely reveal who was responsible for Michael's death. Hilary and Gene's friend, Inspector Betterman of the NYPD, think their idea is so much eyewash, especially since the man who owned the gun has taken a powder. But then the police's main suspect is stabbed and it looks like the amateurs may have a good idea after all. Will they be able to pinpoint Banquo's murderer in time to prevent more deaths?

I have mixed feelings about this one. On the plus side, I enjoyed the way Kaye works the mystery of Shakespeare's third murderer into the present day murder. Since I'm not a Shakespearean scholar, I don't know if the identity in the play is still in hot debate or not, but I do think Kaye (through Hilary) makes a compelling case for the choice made here. And for what Kaye wanted to do with plot, it dovetails very nicely. However, taking the present-day murder on its own merits, I don't find the chosen culprit satisfying. I believe there was a much more interesting solution--one that could have worked with the clues we were given and it would have been far more satisfying to me.

Another plus was our narrator, Gene. I enjoyed viewing events through his eyes and it was really nice to see the character who is set up as the Watson to our lead detective (Hilary) actually solve the mystery himself. She manages to solve the Shakespearean question--independently, but Gene follows the modern-day clues and has the entire wrap-up scene entirely to himself. This was especially satisfying to me because, quite frankly, Hilary is not my favorite person in Kaye's world. She's alternately nasty and nice to Gene--who has a thing for her and I can't for the life of me figure out why. She constantly accuses him of certain behaviors and then gives him zero chance to explain himself. We've watched him the entire time, so we know who side we're on. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him solve the mystery without her. I think part of the problem is that Kaye doesn't write women well. He has great difficulty representing them whenever they are not being b-----s, so giving them authentic emotions and behaviors beyond the negative seems to be out of his league.

Overall--a nicely done mystery, especially for those who like their mysteries with a literary bent. I would have given higher marks if the solution (which is solid, don't get me wrong) had been more satisfying to me personally and if Kaye had more range when portraying female characters.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Otto Penzler · Rating 4 out of 5]

PR whiz Hillary Quayle is featured in this mystery novel about a production of Hamlet gone awry. Marvin Kaye is the author of plays, mystery novels, short stories and is the editor of both the Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine and Weird Tales. Hillary Quayle is a compelling protagonist–she’s smart, interesting, good at her job (she’s the best PR woman in Manhattan)--but she has a major weakness: she has always wanted to be a detective. With the help of her assistant Gene, Hillary is called in to investigate when the production of Hamlet becomes a little too real. Like all of Kaye’s work, Bullets for Macbeth is an excellent fair play whodunit, perfect for mystery and Shakespeare fans alike.

[Sharon Healy-Yang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery, theatre, New York in the 1970s, Shakespeare: I loved this book. I first heard about this novel from my undergrad Shakespeare professor in 1977, but it took me 20 years to find a copy. I loved the book when I read it in the '90s and I loved it when I re-read it a couple of days back. Fortunately, the intervening years had dulled my memory of "who dunnit." There are plenty of suspects and the identity of the killer and that person's motive are deftly spun out for an unexpected reveal. Still, unraveling the mystery of who was the murderer and why is only half the fun. The main characters, Hilary Quayle and her partner Gene are effectively developed, as is the slow burn of their changing relationship. The author beautifully creates the theatre scene of New York in the '70s. He clearly knows the terrain, enabling him to provide a tempting array of believable suspects. Finally, he knows his Shakespeare, and effectively draws on it to shape character and plot. He also knows how to select le mot juste ,making his writing evocative and a pleasure to read.

[Melia Eurus · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a long weird way to force people to listen to your Macbeth fanfiction...

Jokes aside, I called the answer halfway through and watched the main character wander around talking to all these different people to come to a very overcomplicated theory instead of following the far more interesting route of having them solve it through the literary puzzle route. I do not care about these people, I just want to hear your weird fan theory as to who the murderer is. I haven't read Macbeth and have no intention to, but I did really like the concept of this, but reading from the perspective of the one who solved it through historical speculation would have been so much more interesting than watching someone stumble accidentally across a file that gets him the good information. Also he's creepy and I don't like him, although this book was written in the 70s I guess.

Overall, was good to get a quick read in. Solution was interesting but you could honestly just skip like 80 pages in the middle.

[Bardfilm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel has its flaws (the relationship between the two main characters seems generic and forced), but it's quite compelling and, at least for the Shakespeare scholar, it falls into the "genuine page-turner" category. The plot depends on the scholarly debate over the identity of the Third Murderer. The director has a theory about who Shakespeare would have intended to double that role, but he won't reveal it to anyone until opening night—and the actor isn't called on to play the role until the dress rehearsal. And I'm not giving much of a spoiler to say that that's when the murder occurs.

[Jesse Cheshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of corny wise cracks and the occasional eye roll, but the mystery was engaging and the Shakespeare analysis was a cool additional layer that a guy like me can get down with.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific murder mystery wrapped tightly with a performance of Shakespeare's MacBeth. The solution of the mystery involves solving a Shakespearian mystery as well.