The Players' Boy Is Dead

3.8/5 ( ratings)

'vividly evocative of its era.” -The People

Elizabethan England.

A country that is growing rich and powerful.

But, under the surface, there are matters savage and murderous, as well…

When a small players’ troupe come to perform for a lord and his lady, none of the rag-tag group shine more than the young players’ boy, with his flaxen hair and fine features.

The player boy had won a scullery maid’s heart, and it was she, at cock’s crow, who went searching for him in the stables where he slept.

But upon finding him dead - murdered in a most gruesome way - the maid’s heart is broken.

County Constable Matthew Stock, a humble clothier by trade, and his practical-minded wife Joan set about to get to the bottom of this horrendous crime.

Constable Matthew must search high and low, from a Lord’s castle to a disreputable inn, to find the person who dealt such an ungodly blow …

So impossible is the case that Matthew finds himself resenting the position of Constable, as every lead seems to be a dead end.

Magistrate Sir Henry Saltmarsh and his ominous secretary Varnell take great pleasure in scrutinising the honest Constable.

As their keen interest escalates, Matthew begins to suspect that they are less than honourable.

Between adulterous wives, less than holy priests and a brutally enforced political hierarchy, Constable Matthew has his work cut out for him if he is to keep his job and get justice for the murdered boy...

The Players' Boy Is Dead is a widely acclaimed mystery novel as rich in historical detail as it is in suspense.

Praise for The Players' Boy is Dead:

“Tourney writes so well that we are drawn into another world.” -
Pittsburgh Press

“A truly original suspense novel set in Elizabethan England — a most satisfying story.”-
M. M. MacGiffin

“This detective story, written in the style of 16th-century England, is vividly evocative of its era.” -
People

“This exceptional mystery comes from … an English professor who plotted murder while doing background reading for a Shakespeare course.” -
The Washington Post

“Tourney is a superb writer, skilled in the richness of the Elizabethan use of the language.”

The Tulsa World

Leonard Tourney was born and raised in Southern California, Leonard Tourney has spent his professional life as a teacher of writing and literature, especially that of William Shakespeare. He has written eight earlier mystery novels featuring the detective Matthew Stock and his wife, Joan. Since 1985, Tourney has been on the faculty of the Writing Program at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is married to the actress/director Judith Olauson.