Dissolution (Matthew Shardlake 1) (edition 2007)

An exciting and gripping story of murder in Tudor England. Sansom's first book in a series about Cromwell's commissioner, Matthew Shardlake, is set in a failing monastery on the south coast. The previous commissioner's been murdered and Shardlake and his rather irritating assistant, Mark, are sent to investigate. Plenty of skulduggery and not-what-they-seem relationships in the closed and isolated monastic world keep, for the most part, this story thundering along (although it sags slightly in the middle).

There is a believability about the writing, in particular the dialogue, that grips you and draws you in. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
© Koplowitz 2011 ( )

Laura (lauralkeet) recommended Sansom's Matthew Shardlake mystery series during a discussion of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies. The stories are set in the same time period, and while not as polished as Mantel's books, this was a well written and very entertaining mystery full of characters and historical detail.

As the story begins, it is 1537, the protestant reformation is in full swing, the monastic houses are being dissolved and their riches added to the King's coffers, and Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour has just been buried. Thomas Cromwell, the KIng's feared Vicar General sends Matthew Shardlake, one of his Commissioners to the Abbey of Scarnsea, one of the next to be dissolved, to persuade the Abbott to comply with the dissolution. Not only does Matthew have to get the result that Cromwell wants, but he must investigate and solve the murder of his predecessor at the Abbey. The story is full of the politics of the time. There are fictional characters like Shardlake, and historical figures like Cromwell.

I believe that some people have tried comparing Dissolution to Mantel's books, and that might not be a fair comparison. It is a completely different kind of book. I found it to be an enjoyable first book in a series that I will surely follow. This was the Audible version narrated by Steven Crossley. The perfect kind of book to listen to in the car, or while doing chores. ( )

Vicar General Thomas Cromwell is sending his man, Matthew Shardlake, to investigate a brutal murder. As he brings Reformation to England, Cromwell is trying to subtly force monasteries to "voluntarily" dissolve, and the man he sent to the monastery in Scarnsea has been killed. Shardlake needs to find the killer--and try to convince the abbot to close the monastery.

This was really good historical fiction. I was drawn into the story immediately. I can't claim to know much about the period, so I don't know how accurate it is. What I do know is that every time I picked this book back up, I was immediately transported to sixteenth-century England. I don't know how Sansom did it, but his descriptions left me feeling that I had just visited a cold, snowy, monastery on the coast, where the monks live a little too well and know more than they are telling.

Shardlake was hugely likable. He's a jaded, acerbic, lonely, humpback lawyer who is still somewhat naive. He fervently believes in Reformation, but he can't see that the road Cromwell is taking isn't necessarily in the best interests of the country.

The mystery was solid. I never had any idea what was going on until the very end. But once I found out, it all made sense and fit together.

My biggest complaint? The color puce is mentioned five times in the book. Who ever says "puce?" It really stood out to me and got on my nerves. Does the fact that I counted them give that away? But that's a tiny thing to complain about. I will definitely be reading the rest of this series.

I recommend this one to readers interested in Reformation England, fans of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose (although I've only seen the movie), and I think it would also work for those who liked Caleb Carr's The Alienist. ( )

Really, this book deserves 1 star. But I'm in a little bit of a generous mood, and annoyed as I am with this book, I'll bump it up to 2.

I had expected a LOT more than this book actually delivered, and I have to say that I freakin' HATE being able to guess the whodunnit. This book was EXTREMELY predictable, and in a mystery, that's not a good thing.

Add to that that I didn't care about the main character, at all, and none of the secondary characters were fleshed out enough to care about them (probably because the main character was so damn self-centered and Cromwell centered that he only took a passing notice in order to tell us about them), I just didn't really care what happened. It finally got to a point where I had to finish it just to see if I was right. I should have just read the last two pages. Damn it.

Perhaps part of my reason for bumping this up to two stars is the blatant way that the reformation was portrayed as horrible and evil and immoral. I'm of the opinion that people should be able to believe and practice their religion in any old way it strikes their fancy as long as I am not affected by it. Yet King Henry VIII isn't. He created his own religion because he WANTED AN ANNULMENT!!! *stomps foot* He's portrayed as incredibly insecure and egomaniacal, surrounding himself with fawning bootlickers who keep one eye on the the weathervane of his favor, never knowing if he might suddenly decide that he doesn't like the color they're wearing that day and then OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!

Gah. Sometimes I really hate people. Really, you have to make an entire COUNTRY live in fear so you can get an annulment and stroke your ego? Pfft.

This book just annoyed me on lots of levels. I'm tired of thinking about it, so I think I'm going to read something good now. ( )

Suggested reading from TonyH.