“Interred With Their Bones” by Jennifer Lee Carrell
September 17-28, 2007
MotherTalk staffers are all abuzz about Jennifer Lee Carrell’s Interred With Their Bones, a good old fashioned suspense thriller. From the back cover:Â
A long-lost work of Shakespeare, newly found.
A killer who stages the Bard’s extravagant murders as flesh-and-blood realities.
A desperate race to find literary gold, and just to stay alive . . .On the eve of the Globe’s production of Hamlet, Shakespeare scholar and theater director Kate Stanley’s eccentric mentor Rosalind Howard gives her a mysterious box, claiming to have made a groundbreaking discovery. But before she can reveal it to Kate, the Globe burns to the ground and Roz is found dead . . . murdered precisely in the manner of Hamlet’s father. Inside the box Kate finds the first piece in a Shakespearean puzzle, setting her on a deadly, high-stakes treasure hunt.
From London to Harvard to the American West, Kate races to evade a killer and decipher a tantalizing string of clues, hidden in the words of Shakespeare, that may unlock literary history’s greatest secret. At once suspenseful and elegantly written, Interred with Their Bones is poised to become the next bestselling literary adventure in the tradition of The Thirteenth Tale and The Historian.
Want to know more? Read Jennifer Lee Carrell’s backstory for Interred With Their Bones.
Sept 17: Her Bad Mother says “Interred With Their Bones came very close to ranking with the classics. It has all the right ingredients: interesting historical mystery involving real history (Shakespeare), lots of esoteric interpretation of real and fictional texts, and excitement and adventure.” And The Daily Bitch says “This novel is wonderfully prose-y … it was beautifully written without being overdone. This book is a definite YES, READ IT! from me.”
Sept 18: Major Bedhead says “I love books like this. Big, fat, entertaining books that assume you know a bit about the subject at hand. Books that take you on a rollicking ride while never pandering or talking down to you. Books that have you on the edge of your seat, eager to find out What Happens Next … The ending is one, huge, breathless chase that had me turning pages at a furious rate, anxious to find the answers.” And Making Things Up says “Once I started reading, I could not put this book down until I had read every last word.”
Sept 19: Jenn’s Journal says “One thing I really liked was that Jennifer Lee Carrell included a section in the back about which facts were historically accurate and what she made up for the sake of the story. I found myself wondering throughout the book how much of it was real and how much was just fiction and I was glad to have the answer at the end. More was true than I suspected.” And Women and Horses says “I like a swash-bucklin’ woman, which is exactly how the protagonist, Kate Stanley, shows the reader her mettle in the first chapter of this book of deception, mystery, bad Jacobeans, and the theatre.”
Sept 20: CPA Mom says “To say I have found a new author to obsess over enjoy reading is not something I say lightly. Jennifer Lee Carrell has written a superb debut novel.” And Taste Like Crazy says “Interred with Their Bones kept me reading with its numerous plot twists and multifaceted characters.”
Sept 21: Life in the Petri Dish says “Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell is, in a word, exciting. To add a few more words, it is also exhilarating, edge-of-your-seat, smart, mysterious, suspenseful, and compelling. For those who enjoy a great puzzle with a great deal of twists and turns, this book is a must read.” And The 3 R’s says “The story is suspenseful from the very start - in the way that makes you force yourself to take reading breaks and catch your breath sometimes - with twists and turns that will keep you guessing about characters’ motives as well as what will befall them next.”
Sept 24:Â Corblue’s Closet says “I couldn’t put this book down! I loved the twists and turns! I can usually guess how a book is going to end but I was surprised many a time with Interred With Their Bones. Ms. Carrell has done a fantastic job of keeping the reader involved in an interesting adventure.” And Mom and More says “This is a fantastic story for both the mainstream reader and the high brow literary consumer. Just like Shakespeare, the work was wrought for the enjoyment of all rather than the few.”
Sept 25: Tangled Yarn says “[Interred With Their Bones] was like literary comfort food — satisfying and filling and substantial. If you like a suspense novel that is smart and will keep you guessing until the absolute end, you will love this novel.”
Sept 26: Life As Lou says “It was refreshing to read a historical mystery that didn’t insult the reader’s intelligence with long, boring diatribes on things the savvy reader probably already knows. At the same time, [Carrell] didn’t leave her lesser Shakespearian-obsessed fans out in the cold. She weaves her fact with fiction in a way that is both palatable and never boring, all the while holding the reader at the edge of the seat wondering just where the story is leading.” And Mommy Brain says “Ms. Carrell has a gift of writing setting, and as I followed Kate’s trail through London, Harvard, Washington, D.C., Spain, and the American Southwest, I could “see†the places she visited … This book would make a fantastic movie!”
Sept 27: Renassaince Culinaire says “Interred With Their Bones promises to intrigue even the least schooled in Shakespearean lit.” And Baggage and Bug says “Really, what can I say about Interred with Their Bones? That it is intelligent? That I paid the older kids to watch the younger kids so I could finish it because I HAD to know what happened? That it scared me, made me laugh, and kept me turning page after page? That I’m going to give it to my brother because I know he will love it?”
promises to intrigue even the least schooled in Shakespearean lit.” And Sept 28: What Was I Reviewing? says “… a stunningly crafted tale of intrigue, creepy characters, and a mystery that has kept academics arguing for decades … an amazing debut for a very promising author.” And Life With Heathens says “This book has to be my favorite Shakespearean based fiction read to date. Interred With Their Bones has earned a permanent place on my bookshelf (well after my mother in law reads it and gives it back of course) which is why I am feeling quite humbled right now for being so close-minded and judgemental.” And The Debroff Debrief says “Folks, take my advice and do not start this book unless you can keep reading it, because you will not be able to put it down … Interred With Their Bones is a terrific debut novel that would make a great holiday gift for your favorite mystery fan.”
