The Shakespeare Secret by J. L. Carrell

[Ceinwenn]

Oh, you guys are wayyyyyyyyyyyyy ahead of me! I never get time to read during the week as by the time I get home from work it's cook, dinner, eat dinner (which takes us up to 8pm at least), check forums, make lunches for next day, make sure I have everything I need for the next day, go to bed. God I live for the weekends! Where are those lottery gods when I need them?

[Nollaig]

I'm still only about halfway through haha, I'm only reading a few pages a day this week, so you'll probably catch up to me at the weekend!

[Chrissy]

Finished!

 

I am keeping quiet about what I think until you lot have finished too!

[Ceinwenn]

Finished!

 

I am keeping quiet about what I think until you lot have finished too!

 

OMG!!!!!!!!! I can't believe that!

[Nollaig]

Finished!

 

I am keeping quiet about what I think until you lot have finished too!

 

[Chrissy]

I had a long day, waiting for my dog to have his tooth op. He's a fairly battered 10 /11 years old so I felt wobbly about him being put under.

 

So I read, then read some more. I did nothing but make cups of tea, read the book, magazines, the paper, make cups of tea, and piddle, between about 9 this morning and five this afternoon!

[Nollaig]

I managed to read about 10 pages earlier when my laptop temporarily overheated and blew itself away. Other than that, I've been working on my essay.

[Nollaig]

I have to know:

 

 

Is there sex?? The kiss thing just happened on the plane. There's been very little chemistry between these two, I think a bit of good ole adult content could help that a little

 

 

Additionally:

 

I can't help but feel Ben's not entirely a good guy. I don't know why. I just don't trust him. Maybe I'm applying TOO much depth to it.

 

[Ceinwenn]

You're not much ahead of me (I peeked at the spoiler - oops, doesn't ruin anything for me, though).

 

I have to agree with the 1st part of your second comment!

[Ceinwenn]

I had a thought with reference to the talk of how this book had really bad reviews & I think that the people who are reading the book just don't get it. They talk about the lack of character development, but I honestly think that the characters are developed as much as they need to be. To me, the characters are secondary to the story, that is being told, if that makes sense. In a lot of books the story is about the characters, but in this book, the characters are secondary to the story that the books is about. Does that make sense, or am I crazy?

[Nollaig]

It makes perfect sense, and is a point made in a good review of the book on Amazon.

 

It's a plot driven story, not a character driven one. Thus, characters need only be developed enough to conform to the plot.

[Ceinwenn]

well said!

[Chrissy]

It's a plot driven story, not a character driven one. Thus, characters need only be developed enough to conform to the plot.

 

 

Yeah, but there is difference between a book being plot driven over character driven, and a book not having any character development whatsoever. I kept waiting to get any type of insight into any one of the characters, and all I got was a minor tidbit toward the end.

 

I appreciated the pacing of the story, and loved the central premise, but with just a little added flavouring of at least some of the characters I could have had some empathy with the quest.

 

 

 

I just couldn't decide if any part of the above should be spoilered or not, so I covered the lot! PMT 'R' Us at the moment!

[Ceinwenn]

I've finished it!

[Nollaig]

Am I the only one left? After me starting this thread and all!

[Mac]

I'm afraid I only got half-way through this novel, finding it formulaic and, to be honest, not gripping enough for me. Is it worth me having another go? I am, unfortunately, one of those chaps that thinks life is too short to be reading something that still hasn't reeled one in by the half-way mark...sorry:roll:

[Nollaig]

I FINISHED IT I FINISHED IT I FINIS-

 

*Passes out*

 

Once I got into the home run it was really good.

 

 

I'm really disappointed that I missed out on suspecting Ben (because I accidentally saw that it was the other two guys) and I know had I not know it was them, that I would have thought, 'Ben is too obvious, is there another?' But I probably wouldn't have guessed Matthew and it would have been more exciting.

 

[Ceinwenn]

Now, I did think that there was a second person, briefly, but thought that Matthew was WAY too obvious.

Like Roxi, I accidentally found out who the killer was, but when

Sir Henry is "Stabbed" to death by Kate, I went "Huh, I read it was Sir Henry, but he's dead & it wouldn't be Matthew, so who's the killer? So when I found out that it was Matthew, I was really shocked, then shocked again when Sir Henry turned up!

[The Library Nook]

I must reread this because looking at your spoiler I thought- I can't remember this!

[Nollaig]

Ceinwenn:

 

 

I read it was both Matthew and Sir Henry, so when Sir Henry 'died' I knew he hadn't really - the bit I read was 'what you 'killed' Kate was one of Athenaide's cushions' so I knew that.

 

 

Also, I think the depth of the characters that started appearing at the end wasn't half bad! If Carrell had found a way to work everybody's motives into their earlier characters more clearly, I don't think the book would have had the character-development problem at all!