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"By Any Other Name,” by Erin Cotter, is a romantic mystery, period piece, filled with twists and turns. The story follows 16-year-old Will Hughes, a down-on-his-luck stage actor in London, in 1593.
Hughes is a young man, working on Shakespeare's stage for any money he can scrounge up in order to help out with the rent. He is living with Inigo and Maggie, in a small flat. His mentor, famous playwright Christopher Marlowe, helps out all he can, but Hughes rarely accepts the charity.
Hughes is hiding a huge secret, and only Christopher and Inigo know. He is the son of traitors, being forced to keep his identity a secret in order to avoid getting killed in the queen's schemes. He only wants to stay alive long enough to make enough money in order to be able to return to his family.
But when Christopher Marlowe is murdered, Hughes is tasked with taking over his job—which happens to be working as the queen's spymaster. He must join forces with Lord James Bloomsbury, who immediately gets under his skin because of his intelligence and insufferable kindness.
“By Any Other Name” is a great read because the mystery has so many layers that continue to unravel until the final pages, making a riveting. You get a lot of character development, and grow to love each of the characters. Overall, this book was great!
