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A missing diamond. A 500-year-old necklace.
A mystery dating back to the time of William Shakespeare.
When Hero starts 6th grade at a new school, she's less concerned about the literary origins of her Shakespearean name than about the teasing she's sure to suffer because of it. Hero is simply not interested in the connections, but suddenly connections are cropping up all over and odd characters and uncertain pasts are exactly what do fascinate Hero. There's a mysterious diamond hidden in her new house, a curious woman next door, and then, well, there's Shakespeare. Not to mention Danny Cordova, the most popular boy in school. Is it all in keeping with her namesake's origin - just much ado about nothing? Hero is determined to figure it out.
| Marauder's grade | ... | O (outstanding) |
| Hoot Hoot's grade | ... | hoo-hoot |
Visit the official Elise Broach website HERE.
Hero and her sister Beatrice were named after characters from Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing", however, this charming mystery provides much ado about something. Just after the Netherfield family moved into their new home, Mrs. Roth, their elderly and elegant next-door neighbor, tells Hero that her family has just moved into the "Murphy diamond house" - rumoured to have a 17-carat diamond hidden somwhere on the property. This antique diamond once belonged to a necklace owned by Murphy's wife, Eleanor, and was reported stolen. But was it really? And just what does Eleanor's connection to Edward de Vere and the crest of Anne Boleyn mean? Could de Vere possibly be the "real" Shakespeare?
This book, along with Hero's interest, becomes more and more intriguing, as does the curiosity of Danny Cordova, the son of the police chief and the cutest boy in school, who's also intent on solving the mystery. Rich with wonderful Elizabethan history and literary references, Elise Broach's engrossing debut mystery makes you keep wanting to turn the page and proves to be as much of a gem as the missing diamond itself.
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at our Shakespeare's Secret forum thread HERE.
