My Goodreads review: Dissolution

[ankh_hpl]

Dissolution by C.J. Sansom

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


If you're a Brother Cadfael fan, or just enjoy detailed British historical fiction, you're likely to enjoy the first adventure of Matthew Shardlake. A lawyer in the time of Henry VIII (just post-Anne Boleyn, who figures prominently in the plotline), Shardlake & his reluctant assistant Mark Poer are sent to a monastery to investigate the murder of the last Commisioner sent there by Thomas Cromwell.

What follows -- besides several more murders -- is a well-crafted whodunit steeped in Tudor history. For a hunchback, Shardlake manages to get himself into a remarkable number of action scenes. Yet he is first & foremost a thoughtful, haunted man who is discovering the darkest secrets of his employer, Cromwell.

If you're the sort of reader who appreciates author notes futher explaining the history -- & changes made for the sake of plotting -- C.J. Sansom includes those as well. Recommended for historical mystery enthusiasts not afraid to get deep in the weeds, though the journey is worth it.



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Comments

[rattfan]

That looks pretty good, actually. I've been bingeing on a lot of Tudor-era TV atm, having encountered the TV versions of [why has the writer's name just left me?[ of the White Princess, White Queen and the Spanish Princess. So a lawyer getting himself mixed up in such things seems like something I might want to read.

Hope you're doing well with all the political insanity happening your way! Let's hope folk have a sudden rush of common sense and elect Kamala Harris (g)! Not too different from the bear pit otherwise known as the Tudor courts.

[ankh_hpl]

If you're enjoying Tudor-era TV, you definitely need to check this one out. I actually listened to it on Audible, free with subscription. The narrator did an excellent job. And the Tudor history is definitely not dumbed down for readers.

[rattfan]

Yes, I got the free sample to check it out and I think Master Shardlake and I will get on well :-)