A review by ajraffles
Morality Play by Barry Unsworth

4.0

Cons:

-The punctuation was kind of odd in some places. I felt there ought to be dashes, semicolons, or commas in many places.
-It took awhile to get interested in the book.
-The religious bits got to be a bit much, and I could feel myself glazing over whenever Nicholas (our erstwhile narrator) got revved up into one of his spiels.
-The foreboding was ladled on a little thick. Like, a lot thick. With all of his grim references to premonitions and how such a horrible thing befell them, I legit looked to the end to make sure at least Martin lived (I loved his passion, what can I say?!). But really, everything turned out fine and he had a good ending. They all did, so I didn't see exactly why Nicholas was so shaken unless it was for the root cause of the murders.

Pros:

-Once the story hooked me, it *hooked* me. The suspense just builds and builds as they keep peeling away the layers of what took place in the town, and you kind of want to scream at Martin for leading them all by the nose from the frying pan and into the fire, although you also want to see justice served.
-It's a super quick read; I did it in a couple hours, which was my plan, so...that's great!
-I LOVED the idea of it. I'm a big fan of historical fiction, I've always enjoyed mysteries (since I was a child, even!), I like to watch/read about murder cases, and I ADORE old school theatre troupes/actors in general. So the moment I read the description of this play, I immediately made certain I got it for Christmas.

All in all, I think if you like the same things I like (acting/murder/mysteries/historical fiction), you'll probably like this book. Give it a go!