Thirteenth Night - Softcover

Gordon, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1932325034 ISBN 13: 9781932325034

Publisher: Mystery Co, 2004

Synopsis

Orsino is dead. Feste, a top operative of the Fools' Guild, returns to Illyria in disguise to investigate in this sequel to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. This Mystery Company edition restores to print the 1999 novel that marked the debut of Alan Gordon and his Fools' Guild series.

About this title

About the Author:

Alan Gordon is the author of five Fools’ Guild mysteries. His short fiction and essays have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, The Drood Review of Mystery and the Medieval Academy Newsletter. He lives in New York City with his wife, Judy Downer, and son, Robert. By day, he is a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society.

Review:

"Here's a fresh idea: Feste, a minor character in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, is actually a top operative of the Fools' Guild, an organization of professional jesters who double as secret agents. The Duke of Orsino, Twelfth Night's central character, has died under mysterious circumstances, and Feste suspects foul play from the evil Malvolio, whose self-serving plot was foiled in Shakespeare's drama. Feste returns to Orsino, posing as a German merchant, determined to discover which member of the citizenry is a killer in disguise. This exceedingly clever novel is a treat for all mystery fans (especially those familiar with Shakespeare's play); it is delightfully constructed, featuring an intricate whodunnit with political overtones, plenty of intrigue, and a healthy dose of humor. With an idea this original, Gordon, a New York legal-aid lawyer, could have skated through the novel, relying on the court-jesters-as-secret-agents premise to keep readers going. But he didn't; on every level--characters, plot, and style, in addition to premise--this is an outstanding first mystery and, one hopes, the beginning of a fine series." -- Booklist

"Continuing a story first told by Shakespeare is a challenge that would freeze the ink in most writers' quill pens, but Alan Gordon attempts the task with commendable courage and accomplishes it with dismaying ease. Drawing on the same sources as Shakespeare used to create Twelfth Night, a comedy of misunderstandings, misdirection, and cross-dressing, Gordon takes us back to Illyria fifteen years later and gives us Thirteenth Night, a mystery of misperceptions, misdirection, and double crosses. It is a thoroughly enjoyable tale told by a born storyteller, full of sound and fury and a fair amount of juggling." -- Michael Kurland

About this edition

• Publisher: Mystery Co
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1932325034
• ISBN 13: 9781932325034
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240