The year is 1537, and the country is divided between those faithful to the Catholic Church and those loyal to the king and the newly established Church of England. When a royal commissioner is brutally murdered in a monastery on the south coast of England, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's feared vicar general, summons fellow reformer Matthew Shardlake to lead the inquiry. Shardlake and his young protégé uncover evidence of sexual misconduct, embezzlement, and treason, and when two other murders are revealed, they must move quickly to prevent the killer from striking again.
It is 1540 when Matthew Shardlake is pressed to help a friend's young niece who is charged with murder. Despite threats of torture and death by the rack, the girl is inexplicably silent. Shardlake is about to lose her case when he is suddenly granted a reprieve.
In exchange for two more weeks to investigate the murder, Shardlake accepts Cromwell's assignment to find a lost cache of Dark Fire, an ancient weapon of mass destruction. Cromwell, out of favor since Henry's disastrous marriage to Anne of Cleves, is relying on Shardlake's discovery to save his position at court.
Autumn 1541. A plot against the throne has been uncovered, Henry VIII has set off on a spectacular progress from London to York, with a thousand soldiers, the cream of the nobility, and his fifth wife, Catherine Howard. Awaiting his arrival are lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant, Jack Barak. In addition to processing petitions to the king, Shardlake's task is to protect a conspirator until he is transported back to London for interrogation.
But when a local glazier is murdered, things get a little more complicated as the murder seems to be not only connected to Shardlake's prisoner but also to the royal family itself. Then Shardlake stumbles upon a cache of secret papers that throws into doubt the legitimacy of the entire royal line, and a chain of events unfolds that threatens Shardlake with the most terrifying fate of the age: imprisonment in the Tower of London.
Spring, 1543. While King Henry VIII is wooing Lady Catherine Parr, whom he wants for his sixth wife but is resisting. Archbishop Cranmer and the embattled Protestant faction at court are watching keenly, for Lady Catherine is known to have reformist sympathies. Matthew Shardlake, meanwhile, is working on the case of a teenage boy, a religious maniac locked in the Bedlam hospital for the insane. Should he be released to his parents, when his terrifying actions could lead to him being burned as a heretic? When an old friend is horrifically murdered Shardlake promises his widow, for whom he has long had complicated feelings, to bring the killer to justice. His search leads him to both Cranmer and Catherine Parr - and with the dark prophecies of the Book of Revelation.
Summer, 1545. England is at war. Henry VIII's invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel. Meanwhile Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr. Asked to investigate claims of 'monstrous wrongs' committed against a young ward of the court, which have already involved one mysterious death, Shardlake and his assistant Barak journey to Portsmouth. Once arrived, Shardlake and Barak find themselves in a city preparing to become a war zone; and Shardlake takes the opportunity to also investigate the mysterious past of Ellen Fettipace, a young woman incarcerated in the Bedlam. The emerging mysteries around the young ward, and the events that destroyed Ellen's family nineteen years before, involve Shardlake in reunions both with an old friend and an old enemy close to the throne.
I really enjoyed reading these books. They are all well investigated with a lot of references on true historic events.The descriptions of surroundings and looks are so well done you feel like you are sitting on a chair close and watching the story unfold.
The detective/investigation part in the books are very well done too. You can puzzle along and try and solve the mysteries before Matthew and Barak manage to do it.
The characters are set very solid. The author is very careful in introducing important characters and takes his time to make sure you get the right fibe with a character. There are few minor characters that get less introduction but they are really not important to the stories. If a character is important it is carefully described. The author also used the technique of introducing a few new main characters in every book making it for a lively group of people by the time you get to the fifth book.
Every book expect for Heartsone holds to a basic flow. We are introduced to the mystery that needs solving. The atmosphere is set and the historical fact relevant to that moment are pointed out. After the book slowly works its way to solving the mysteries.
What was less about the books was the historical references. There where a lot of them and it slowed the pace of the books. With Dissolution I was annoyed by it and noticed I started reading along not paying that much attention. This resulted in the situation that I understood I could have puzzled along but I missed out on so many clues already that I either had to start over or just give up. Did made that I read the other books with more attention. Paying that attention is worth it but you should not pick this books up for an easy casual read. It takes a lot of work actually.
In Revelation there is less history and you notice it reads easier. Heartstone holds two big mysteries making that book a lot messier than the other cause you have to remember the facts on both if you want to puzzle along.
The books are worth your time though if you enjoy a thorough investigated historical detective. I do advice to read this books in winter. I noticed that the sun and nice temperatures while being on holiday where not the right circumstances for the atmosphere of the books.
Dissolution
Author: C.J. Sansom
Publisher: Pan
ISBN-10: 0330411969
ISBN-13: 9780330411967
Pages: 456
Format: Paperback
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Dark Fire
Author: C.J. Sansom
Publisher: Pan
ISBN-10: 033045078
ISBN-13: 9780330450782
Pages: 581
Format: Paperback
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Sovereign
Author: C.J. Sansom
Publisher: Pan
ISBN-10: 0330436082
ISBN-13: 9780330436083
Pages: 653
Format: Paperback
Pan MacMillan: eBook | Audio | Paperback
Author: C.J. Sansom
Publisher: Pan
ISBN-10: 0330447106
ISBN-13: 9780330447102
Pages: 630
Format: Paperback
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Heartstone
Author: C.J. Sansom
Publisher: Pan
ISBN-10: 0330447114
ISBN-13: 9780330447119
Pages: 730
Format: Paperback
Pan MacMillan: eBook | Audio | Paperback
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