Illustrated by Sammy Elgie.

Published by Andersen Press, 2026.

11-year-old Will Shakespeare knows he’s destined to be a genius at something, and he thinks his destiny lies in becoming the greatest person-who-solves-crimes in the world. When the famous Moundsofgoo Treasure goes missing, he might finally have a crime to solve. However, this is not your typical treasure; it’s an old bag of Henry VIII’s stinky toenails which everyone believes hold healing powers.

Will enlists the help of his best friend Tybalt and the two hapless heroes begin looking for clues. Along the way, they get into all sorts of scrapes and end up causing even more trouble. The book is fast-paced, funny and easy to read. Although not in diary format, it does have a similar feel to other popular diary-format books with the use of first person narrative, witty asides and doodle-annotations. The engaging comic-book-style illustrations add another level of humour and accessibility to the book.

The story is packed with lots of great historical detail, from alchemists and tanners to privvies and glass-less windows, helping to give the reader a real insight into life in the mid-sixteenth century. For added fun, there are poos, bogies and pustular spots a-plenty.

The book is rich with references to Shakespeare’s childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon, as well as to the plays he would later go on to write. I particularly liked all the references to the coinage of new words and the looseness of rules around spelling. The book’s central plot, with its feuding families and star-crossed lovers, is based around the story of Romeo and Juliet and I enjoyed the allusions to actual lines from the play that were interspersed throughout the book.

Children are going to love the mischief that Will and Tybalt get up to and they will enjoy trying to solve the crime ahead of the two sleuths. The Stinky Stolen Toenails is loads of fun and I’m sure it’s the first of many cases for this crime-solving duo.

Suitable for children aged 7+

Rating: 💙💙💙💙💙

Buy book Click on the link to buy Will Shakespeare Mysteries, The Stinky Stolen Toenails from Bookshop.org.

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Thank you to Andersen Press for sending me this book to review. I reviewed it as part of the Will Shakespeare Mysteries, The Stinky Stolen Toenails blog tour. Check out all the other posts on the tour for more exclusive content.