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Product Description
Review
“Set in the same [world] as Margaret Frazer’s Dame Frevisse mysteries…Historical mystery fans will love this series.”—Midwest Book Review
Book Description
In the spring of 1435, Joliffe and his fellow players are sent to the village of Ashewell not only to stage plays, but to uncover some dark secrets about the town’s three wealthy families: the Ashewells, the Medcotes, and the Gosyns. A rivalry has been brewing among the families, entangling the entire town in a web of seduction, deception, and blackmail.
Matters go beyond the breaking point when someone turns to murder to settle their grievances. And if one murder is good, why not another? If all the world is a stage, then it’s up to Joliffe to bring the curtain down on this tragedy—before another man takes his final curtain call...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
11 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Group of Players!, Jan 12 2007
By Miami Old Lady "Elsa" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Play of Knaves (Mass Market Paperback)
I read this book in less than 3 hours, because it held my interest completely and I just had to finish it. I read the previous three books about Joliffe and the players, but this is among the best by far. The interaction of the players is superb, with their easy friendship and good humored chiding. The new member of the troupe, Gil, can use some additional exposure -- and further development of what may be an interesting character.I hate to give any part of the plot away, but consider reading the book because it is well written and beautifully researched. The crime and its solution are simply an added and well brought about bonus. A most for hystorical mysteries fans!
Enjoy!!!!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Simply too slow moving for me., Jan 31 2012
By J. Lesley "(Judy)" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A Play of Knaves (Mass Market Paperback)
I've been on a binge lately with reading medieval mysteries. I kept seeing the books by Margaret Frazer so finally settled on this book to try. The writing is very good. I liked the way the characters where portrayed, especially the closeness of the troupe of actors who spent pretty much twenty-four hours a day together. I also thought the descriptions of the area surrounding the chalk horse in White Horse Vale was wonderfully written. Life in England in 1435 was not easy, yet these actors really made the best of what was available to them and with the help of their patron and protector, Lord Lovell, seemed to thrive in their chosen life.My problems with the book came about from the fact that it seemed to literally take forever for anything to happen. As a reader I was treated to at least four performances by the group, along with all the minute staging, script writing or revisions, and costumes so these portions of the novel were simply too slow moving for me. I had seen that Joliffe was the featured character in the novels (it mentions him in the title description) and yet there was just as much focus on Bassett, Rose, Gil, and Ellis. Not until over halfway into the novel did any crime take place which had Joliffe taking center stage to solve it. Perhaps this novel falls more into a study of characters and how they interact with each other than it does a mystery. Once the mysteries began to happen it was really quite simple to figure out who the villain was. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be trying any further novels in this series.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Start with A Play of Issac!, April 8 2010
By Elizabeth A. Hart - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Play of Knaves (Mass Market Paperback)
The book A Play of Knaves is one of a series of historical mysteries that follow the player Joliffe as he ends up in a variety of situations that require some serious sleuthing to stay out of trouble.While it is not difficult to follow and enjoy the mystery of A Play of Knaves without having read the rest of the series, some of the introspection of the main character seemed misplaced because I had not read earlier works and had not yet formed a connection of any sort with Joliffe. I still felt like I hadn't by the end of the book either. It is very apparent that there is an arc through the series following Joliffe and this was just one small part of it, but since I was reading a book somewhere in the middle it ended up being just confusing to have those themes thrown in.
The historical mystery on its own was a fun read. I don't know much about the period so I'm not sure what of it is accurate and what not, but the characters were lively and fun and the mystery was definitely interesting, though I wouldn't call it gripping by any means. The dialogue was definitely not accurate for the times, but that was probably a blessing considering the year. A lot of the circumstance and background for a band of traveling players in the 1400's ended up being pretty interesting. And, the humor of the book was at times laugh out loud funny as their performances were described, plus they often had license to poke fun at figures in society that the average person could not.
A Play of Knaves was a light and fun read but might I suggest starting with A Play of Issac? That might make things make a lot more sense and you can follow Joliffe the player from the very beginning.
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