NO. 1 OF 4

A Mystery of Errors

by Simon Hawke

Published 5 December 2000
Symington Smythe and Will Shakespeare meet at a tavern on the road to London and become travel companions and fast friends. They wheedle their way into a compnay of players and wind up in the middle of romance, mystery and intrigue.

NO. 2 OF 4

The Slaying of the Shrew

by Simon Hawke

Published 11 December 2001
Shakespeare and Smythe join the ranks of Wolfe and Goodwin, Holmes and Watson and, at times, Abbott and Costello, as this light-hearted pair of amateur detectives stumble in and out of danger and use their wits to survive both the conspiracies at hand and the cut-throat business of the Elizabethan theatre. Will Shakespeare, Symington "Tuck" Smythe and their band of thespians are contracted to provide theatrical entertainment at a rural estate as part of a large wedding pageant. When the headstrong Bridge turns up dead, and overhead conversations contain conspiratorial plots against the families involved, Will and Tuck must once again pull double duty as thespians and sleuths to solve the case of THE SLAYING OF THE SHREW.

NO. 3 OF 4

Much Ado About Murder

by Simon Hawke

Published 13 December 2002
Out of work because of the plague, fledgling playwright Will Shakespeare and would-be thespian Symington Smythe become involved in the murder of a wealthy merchant trader by a young craftsman, a situation that inspires a new play. By the author of A Mystery of Errors. Reprint.

NO. 4 OF 4

The Merchant of Vengeance

by Simon Hawke

Published 1 December 2003
Will, the fledgling playwright and poet, and Tuck, the would-be actor and rest-of-the-time ostler, have been enjoying their lives on and behind the stage...if only it wasn't for the occasional interruptions: plague, the closing of the theater for reasons of law or finance, and the occasional murder.
As luck would have it, the dramatic twosome must once again play detective in a case that involves the fates of those near and dear to their hearts as well as certain hoped-to- have-been--forgotten family members
.
Christopher Marlowe's "The Jew of Malta" is all the rage on the London stage, and the young bard wishes to rise to the competition. With companion Tuck at his side, Will makes a sojourn for research purposes into the Elizabethan underworld, where contracts are blood bonds and the quality of mercy is stretched to its very limits. He becomes embroiled in a tangle of unlucky young lovers, anti-Semitism, and rogue justice.