Inside the box Kate finds the first piece in a Shakespearean puzzle, setting her on a deadly, high stakes treasure hunt. From London to Harvard to the American West, Kate races to evade a killer and solve a tantalizing string of clues hidden in the words of Shakespeare, which may unlock one of history’s greatest secrets.

Here’s what I thought…

The first thing I want to tell you is that I don’t normally review books like this one. Why? Well it’s just not the type of book I’ve been reading the last couple of years. Mostly I’ve been reading romance, erotica, paranormal, or a combination of the 3. The genre best suited for this book is mystery/historical fiction. I used to read a lot of  both of those genres. What caught my eye and then my attention? The book’s cover art.

I’m usually loathe to compare books or writers but I think if you like Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code, or Lost Symbol this is a book you’d enjoy as well…

Here’s the big difference…Shakespeare…and to be honest I think you’ll enjoy this book a lot more if you have at least a rudimentary knowledge of Shakespeare’s works,  as well as Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. There are a lot of references to both in this book, and I think you could get easily lost without a basic understanding of both.

The basic premise is this…What if Shakespeare wrote another, undiscovered play, whose plot contained political secrets that are key parts of British history? The main character, Kate Stanley, does some major global traveling in order to try to decipher clues and track down this secret manuscript. Along the way several murders take place and I found myself sharing Kate’s confusion as to whom she could trust. There are a lot of plot twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up until the very end of the book which is what a good mystery author should do.

I enjoyed many of the characters who come along for the ride in this book…Ben Pearl who becomes Kate’s protector is both intelligent and swoony. I would’ve liked a deeper exploration of the growing attraction that results between Kate and Ben, but this is a mystery not a romance novel. Sir Henry is another fabulous character…he’s an older actor who happens to be rich and he’s also Kate’s friend. Throw in a very eccentric billionaire who happens to be a Shakespeare aficionado who seems hell-bent on proving that the bard wasn’t the “real Shakespeare” at all, and you’ve got a great cast.

Now, what made this so interesting to me is that there really is some debate in academic circles on this. Stratfordian vs Oxfordian. It’s given basic treatment in the book, but if you’re like me and want to dig a little deeper it’s pretty intriguing in its own right. That aside however, I enjoyed the book immensely.

Ms. Carrell is a scholar, but  rest assured that her writing style in this novel is not “text-book” at all. I was pleased to discover that she has some major skill at descriptive writing, and y’all know how much I love that style.  Lemme give you an example or two…

From the river, it looked as if two suns were setting over London. One was sinking in the west, streaming ribbons of glory in pink and melon and gold.

Setting the card down on the table between us, I opened the book to the first page, smoothing out paper that was thick and supple, the color of coffee ice cream.

His eyes were intelligent and sensitive, his brows lifted high, as if he’d just told some arch jest and wondered whether you were quick enough to follow.

MmmHmm…that’s what I’m talking about.

Ms. Carrell has written a second novel with the character of Kate Stanley. I liked the first one well enough to put it on my TBR list.

My rating for Interred With Their Bones is a solid 3.5 hearts

Tamie Xo