The Dark Forest — Alex Woolf

The second book in Alex Woolf's pulse-pounding historical trilogy, set in the time of Shakespeare and complete with coded clues for kids to solve!
 
The year is 1603 and, nearly two years after his mysterious disappearance, Alice Fletcher's missing brother, Richard, has returned from beyond the grave -- suffering from amnesia. Meanwhile, Alice, Richard, and Tom Cavendish must foil a Catholic plot against the new king, James I, involving the abduction of the country's most famous playwright: William Shakespeare. Packed with a heady Elizabethan atmosphere of political scheming, romance, and murder, the fast-paced, suspenseful plot will keep young readers glued to the page even as they gain insight into the history of Shakespeare's England.