The Bawdy Basket (Elizabethan Theater Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Set in the Elizabethan theater scene, THE BAWDY BASKET gives a convincing view of the sights and smells of the time when theater reached its greatest peak. The ever-competent Nicholas is a solid figure in the midst of the emotional and not always rational actors, each fighting for their moment in the public acclaim.

Author Edward Marston relies a bit too heavily on coincidence and on on-the-nose dialogue to overexplain motivations, but nevertheless delivers a highly enjoyable mystery.

The company also faces another threat to their well being: their faithful and brilliant playwright, Edmund Hoode, has fallen in love (again) with a rich and beautiful widow, and who seems to have her own plans for Hoode -- none of which includes his remaining with the company! Threatened on all sides, the players cannot help but wonder if all this spells the end of the company... Unless, of course, Nicholas manages to clear Gerard Quilter's name as well as come up with a plan to detach Hoode from his rich inamorata!

But will Nicholas be able to successfully clear Gerard Quilter's name? There are, to begin with, many vexing questions that have to be answered. For instance, why did two seemingly respectable merchants testify that they saw Gerard commit the murder? Why was Gerard fitted up for the charge in the first place? And who was the powerful enemy that set all this in motion? Before long Nicholas has managed to discover the answers to all these questions -- but not before more murders are committed and an attempt is made on his life...

Brisk, breezy and totally engrossing, "The Bawdy Basket" unfolded at an incredibly breathneck pace. I finished the book before I even realised it -- I was that absorbed with the novel. However, I must own that the mystery at hand is not a very complicated one, nor are there any red herring suspects or cunning turns in the plot that will keep you guessing to the very end. Nevertheless, it was still an intriguing and interesting mystery novel and a definite pager turner. With so many Elizabethan theatre mystery novels being published almost everyday, ( and most of them being quite good), I was relieved to note that Edward Marston has not lost his entertaining and witty touch, and that the Nicholas Bracewell mystery series still remains one of the best (as well as one of my favourites) around. A fantastically good read.

In "The Bawdy Basket," young actor Frank Quilter's father has just been executed at Smithfield. Believing him to have been
innocently condemned, Frank sets out to right the wrong and to return honor and dignity to his family name. He enlists his friend Nick Bracewell to help him. Of course, clearing this case is not so simple, as the pathways to righteousness are
indeed anything but straight and narrow. Winding through the alleys and byways of London, the duo run into all kinds of obstacles.

In addition, Edmund Hoode, the company's irreplaceable playwright, has fallen in love once again and is determined to leave the theater, much to the consternation of the rest. That problem has to be be solved.

And Marston does solve all the problems, of course. Despite his usual stilted dialogue, the book runs true to course. "The Bawdy Basket" further illustrates the
conditions and situations of Elizabethan England and for students of medieval history (and who love historical myteries), this episode deserves a standing ovation.