Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Something Rotten | 2007 | Alan Gratz | Buy |
| 2 | Something Wicked | 2008 | Alan Gratz | Buy |
The Horatio Wilkes Mystery series by Alan Gratz takes Shakespeare’s plays and reimagines them as young adult mysteries. Something Rotten (2007) transposes the plot of Hamlet to a Tennessee high school, with Horatio Wilkes investigating the suspicious death of his best friend’s father. Something Wicked (2008) does the same for Macbeth.
The books blend literary references with accessible mystery plotting, making them work both as standalone teen whodunits and as creative introductions to Shakespeare’s themes. Gratz wrote these early in his career before shifting to the historical fiction that would make him a bestselling author.