I very much enjoyed this book. I thought it was an intriguing read, with three different stories ranging in time from 1592 (Shakespeare's life) to 1875 (Phillip Gardner's life) to 1995 (Peter Byerly's life). The details of how forgeries are made - and discovered - were fascinating. I knew that not everyone thinks William Shakespeare was the author of "his" plays, but I didn't realize the lengths people have gone to in order to prove or disprove it. I also didn't realize that you can re-bind an old book. What a painstaking process!!
This is one of those books that after you finish it, you should start reading it again. Since there are three very different times and three different stories, and you don't know how it is all going to tie together until the end, I think you would pick up a lot more by starting at the beginning again. With this book, knowing the ending certainly does not detract from the enjoyment of reading the book. I thought it was written in a page-turner style, with the mystery of the Pandisto being the central point, but certainly not the only point. There was a lot of information, and historical references, but written in an easy reading style. Now that I know who everyone is, and how they relate to each other, I can see re-reading it. (Not now though! Too many other books to read!)
I liked the story of Peter and Amanda, although there was a lot of sadness there too. It is sad that everything seems to end with her - at least the bloodline. Why did she have so many serious issues? Their "scenes" reminded me of The Ghost Whisperer! Replace Jennifer Love Hewitt with Peter and you have a TV show! I was afraid that Liz had died when Peter started "seeing" her too! This paranormal stuff actually didn't bother me in this book, which in other books it would. I thought it was well-written.
Wendy's Rating: *****
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