By Any Other Name
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
“A high-stakes, high-drama mystery…led by a plucky, determined hero I would have followed anywhere…[A] romantic, delightful romp!” —Mackenzi Lee, New York Times bestselling author of A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue
A down-on-his-luck actor and an English lord reluctantly team up to solve the murder of Christopher Marlowe in this Shakespearean-era “quippy, heart-wrenching debut…ideal for fans of Mackenzi Lee and F.T. Lukens” (Kirkus Reviews).
London, 1593. Sixteen-year-old Will Hughes is busy working on Shakespeare’s stage, stuffing his corsets with straw and pretending to be someone else. Offstage, he’s playing a part, too. The son of traitors, Will is desperate to keep his identity secret—or risk being killed in the bloody queen’s imperial schemes. All he wants is to lay low until he earns enough coin to return to his family.
But when his mentor, the famous playwright Christopher Marlowe, is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Will’s plans are hopelessly dashed. What’s worse, Marlowe was a spy for the queen, tasked with stalking a killer rumored to be part of an elusive order of assassins, and his secrets and untimely death have put Will under a harsh spotlight. Then, when Will unwittingly foils an attempt on the queen’s life, she names him her next spymaster.
Now, to avoid uncomfortable questions, prison, or an even more terrible fate, Will reluctantly starts his new career, which—yes—will secure him the resources to help his family…but at what cost? Adding insult to injury is the young Lord James Bloomsbury, Will’s new comrade in arms, whose entitled demeanor and unfairly handsome looks get under Will’s skin immediately.
Together, the two hunt the cunning assassin, defend the queen’s life, and pray to keep their own...all while an unexpected connection blossoms between them.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Struggling teen actor Will Hughes unintentionally becomes embroiled in a high-stakes murder mystery in Cotter's careening adventure romance debut, set in 1593 Elizabethan England. Sixteen-year-old Will gets by playing female leads under the mentorship of playwright Christopher Marlowe at the infamous Rose Theater in London. But even offstage he must assume a role, having adopted his name as a pseudonym to hide the fact that he is the gay son of anti-monarchist parents, from whom he was kidnapped as a child. Determined to earn enough money to return to them, Will agrees to oversee an illegal playhouse for attractive Lord James Bloomsbury in exchange for gold. After witnessing Christopher's murder, Will—enlisted as a spy for the queen he detests—finds himself masquerading as English nobility as he pursues an unknown assassin and tries to quell his undeniable attraction to James. Sharp-tongued Will is riveting as the earnestly melodramatic and ill-fated hero whose tumultuous and forbidden romance with James pulses beneath every scene. Cotter weaves deep research on historic events and figures such as William Shakespeare and Irish pirate queen Gráinne Ní Mháille into this leisurely and delightfully wrought tale of love and deceit. Main characters present as white. Ages 14–up.
Customer Reviews
4.5/5
4.5 It was great. I listened to it as an audio book because I found the paper copy a bit hard to read but the narrator made it so worth it! There is way more murder mystery vibes then I was expecting (and it made me like it more) and nothing feels too forced or rushed. Almost cried at one point and the plot twist had me shook. Every time I thought I knew what was going on something would happen and change everything lol. Not sure if I would reread it but I would gladly recommend it.