Witch Hammer

Dreaming of one day securing his fortune in London, 21-year-old Christopher %E2%80%9CKit%E2%80%9D Marlowe leaves his studies at Cambridge in July, 1585, to pursue an acting career with Lord Strange%E2%80%99s Men, a theatrical touring company, in Trow%E2%80%99s chilling third mystery featuring the playwright and spy (after Silent Court). En route to Oxford, taking care to avoid plague-ravaged London, the company encounters an assortment of apparent witches and demons. Midway through the journey, tireless actor and manager Ned Sledd turns up with a silver-handled bodkin buried in his throat beneath the King Stone, a revered site guarded by anointed keepers. Marlowe must use his crime-solving expertise to find Ned%E2%80%99s slayer among a myriad of potential suspects, both human and spectral. Readers will have fun recognizing the many quotations from William Shakespeare, Marlowe%E2%80%99s idol and later his rival, in this complex yet engrossing tale of superstition and murder. (Oct.)