I saw this book in the airport in London and wanted to pick it up...not sure why... maybe because I thought Wm Shakespeare was the "detective"? Anyhoo...home and a copy came my way. 
 Shakespeare is not the detective....but his brother....and the story is ok, but not that captivating. It was nice to read a mystery after reading so much non-fiction...but that shouldn't really influence the opinion of whether the book was well-written or not. I guess....the book is interesting if you are stuck on a train and want to escape the banality of the random teenagers talking/gossiping....other than that, there are other books that are much more interesting. 
 Story---- Someone wants to kill Francis Drake...and Mary Queen of Scots is beheaded...and a young woman is found murdered/dissected....meanwhile two men race to find the killer....a kind man and a torture/masochist.