The Roaring Boy, by Edward Marston

Retrieved from: my library
031213155, 1995
Suggested by: the author list
My Ratings: 9 Merit, 9 Interest, 7 Fun

Westfield's Men are struggling. Their playwright, Edwin Hoode, hasn't written a really good play in ages, and Lawrence Firethorn has a toothache he can't get rid of. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a great idea for a play appears in the form of an anonymous donation of plot and character. The story is topical, being based on a notorious recent murder in Greenwich. Unfortunately, it also brings criminal charges against the acting troupe in the form of Edwin Hoode who is thrown into prison under threat of torture if he can't produce the name of the original writer. Since no one knows who it is, he lies waiting in prison while the rest of the troupe go to Greenwich, confront the family of the murder victim, cut through the knotty problem and uncover real treason in the person of the Master Armourer.

Really interesting book. Very pro-woman, although there is a kind of ishy bit at the very end, a part that has minimal bearing on the murder mystery itself.