What an intriguing book. It's a retelling of Hamlet, with a sprinkling of other Shakespearean plays. It's a love story. It's an exploration of three characters whose lives intertwine in a theatre in Manhattan. It's about life and death. It's gorgeously written. It's also a mystery, though that's probably less important than the other factors. returnreturnI came close to putting it down early on. I found the central character of Benjamin annoying, and didn't entirely believe that two other characters could find him so endearing. They all seemed a bit too smugly privileged, orbiting a wealthy young man. But I'm glad I persisted and, while he continued to be irritating, I grew involved in how he related to Lia and Horatio, and his philosophical-scientific speculations helped make up for his more immature characteristics. returnreturnBen's father has died, and he doesn't believe it was a suicide. He suspects his uncle, who is planning to marry his mother. Sounds familiar, yes? Though Ben doesn't dither or prevaricate; he's going to find out who killed his father, a Texan oil baron who tried to make it in Manhattan society by putting on unpopular plays in the New World Theory. He relies on his friend Horatio, a tall South Asian Brit who is much too good for this world. Lia, who had been engaged to Ben but broke it off as her alcoholism got the better of her, and whose father (not named Polonius, but he's pretty much Polonius) is the energetic and slightly ridiculous figure who keeps the theatre going. Lia now works with three eccentric women from New Orleans, making artistic bouquets that are charged with enchantment. All of them are gearing up for a gala fundraiser that will bring the glitterati of New York together, and will give Ben a chance to lay a trap and reveal who killed his father.returnreturnThere's much, much more and some surprising twists along the way. And romance. And sparkling wit. I wasn't at all sure about it at first, but it ended up being a delight.