C. J. Sansom

Dissolution, C.J. Sansom. 2003. This is the first of a series set in Tudor England. HenryVIII has declared himself head of the Church in England. Thomas Cromwell has been charged with closing the monasteries and claiming their wealth for the crown. Matthew Shardlake, a hunchbacked lawyer and a supporter of the “new religion” is sent a monastery to investigate the murder of one of Crowell’s commissioners. Neither the Catholics nor the Protestants shine in this mystery, but if you enjoy reading about Tudor history, this may turn out to be a good series.… (more)

I've always previously loved the Matthew Shardlake series of books, but I found this one a disappointment. There was just so much plot, so much trowelled into the story. It just felt too much. Crisis tumbled in after crisis, plot thickener after plot thickener. Death, murder, the Evil Lawyer, the Evil Landowner, the Evil Servant: they were all there in spades. I enjoyed visiting Tudor London, Tudor Portsmouth. As I used to live in Pompey at the period that the Mary Rose was being raised, it was good to have her brought to life. Sansom's a good writer, always engaging. It's just a pity he tried to make two or more books into one.… (more)

I've read all the Matthew Shardlake books now: all in the wrong order, but it doesn't matter. I feel as if I know my way round Tudor London, and have a bit of a feel for the sounds and smells of the streets, and the religious and political turmoil that was a part of everyday life then.

This is a complex two-pronged tale, beginning with a young girl falsely accused of murder, and soon involving Shardlake in another apparently unrelated all-but impossible mission to uncover the secret behind the mysterious Greek Fire, at the behest of Thomas Cromwell.

This is the book where we meet Barak, the coarse yet astute and intelligent young man whom Cromwell provides as his assistant: herbalist Guy, an ex-monk whom we met in the first book has more than a bit-part to play, and is in many ways the voice of Shardlake's conscience. Fast paced, intelligently and intricately plotted, this is a novel that is impossible to put down.… (more)

I'm a huge fan of the Tudor detective novels (if that's the right term) involving the hunch-backed lawyer Matthew Shardlake, and its large cast of characters, imagined and real - Cranmer and Henry VIII for starters.

Apart from the cast, the plot is complex, terrifying and thoroughly enthralling, involving multiple murders and a study of passages in the Book of Revelations. Tudor London is conjured up so that I can smell the streets and see the urban scenes that Sansom brings to life. I sense the religious turmoil, the unease and fear in this period of upheaval and change. I enjoy the company of Shardlake, of his assistant Jack Barak; of the doctor and former monk Guy who is Shardlake's friend; of Barak's wife Tamasin; of the widowed Dorothy, whose husband's death begins this bloody, complex and horrifying murder hunt; and so many others.

Sansom wears his considerable learning lightly and uses it to great effect in weaving his complex and fast-moving tale. Above everything though, this book's a great page-turner. It was hard to put it down until I'd read every single one of its almost 550 pages.… (more)