SOMETHING ROTTEN

Horatio Wilkes is a wily sleuth who finds himself in Denmark (Tennessee), where something stinks. The Copenhagen River is being polluted by the paper mill run by the Prince family. Horatio's best friend, Hamilton Prince, thinks his father was murdered and is outraged that his mother, Trudy, married his Uncle Claude without a decent period of mourning. Erik Davies gives a smart, understated performance as the wisecracking Horatio, the brooding Hamilton, and the heartbroken Olivia, without becoming smug or cutesy. Alan Gratz's foray into Shakespearean convolutions is witty, literate, and fun. Young adult readers will find this a helpful "who's who" in HAMLET before they actually read about the melancholy Dane, or, having read it, will enjoy the many clever references to the original. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 08]