From the bestselling author of Winter in Madrid and Dominion comes the exciting and elegantly written first novel in the Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery seriesDissolution is an utterly riveting portrayal of Tudor England. 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 … 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.
A “remarkable debut” (P. D. James), Dissolution introduces a thrilling historical series that is not to be missed by fans of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies.
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Historical crime doesn’t get much better than this. Matthew Shardlake is a memorable protagonist and CJ Sansom keeps things exciting while still painting a vivid picture of Tudor England.
The Shardlake opener is a must read for all historical fiction fans. This is a series to sit back and enjoy. The details are exquisite, the characters wonderfully drawn. After a few chapters you will feel you are a part of Shardlake’s world, the sights and smells are all so vividly brought to life by Sansom. When I read these books I had to wait for each new book in the series to be released – agony! Now they are all available as a literary treat for readers to enjoy. So if you are looking for a historical fiction series or the highest quality then I highly recommend these books.
Sam Burnell – author of the Mercenary For Hire Series of Historical Fiction Novels.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WWJPMTR/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
If you’re a history buff who likes a good mystery I recommend the The Shardlake series starting with DISSOLUTION. The year is 1537 and lawyer Matthew Shardlake is sent to the Sussex coast by Thomas Cromwell to investigate the murder of Robin Singleton, one of his commissioners.
In this first book we’re introduced to some interesting character, some real, and some created out of the vivid imagination of the author.
This story is a thoroughly engrossing who-done-it that keeps you guessing to the end. I loved it.
Very well written. This series are great reads that take you back to a different time period.
Well researched & a fascinating look at those dark Tudor days. Very readable & historically accurate.
I am a huge fan of the Matthew Shardlake Mysteries. None have disappointed!
I adore this series by Sansom, and positively gobbled up each novel in turn. The historical back drop is amazingly accurate, and Sansom brings you right there with his elaborate detail, weaving historical events in with a compelling mystery. Anyone who loves historical fiction and/or mysteries with meat will love this book and the others in the series as well (which are sequential, so read in order!). I love Matthew Shardlake, the main character, and feel that I know him as a personal friend. Excellent and highly entertaining.
Historical fiction at its best. Read all these. Waiting impatiently for the next C. j. Samson
I loved this book! With an unusual detective in an atmospheric setting, in a time of uncertainty, all described brilliantly so that one can feel the cold, the suspicion and the uncomfortable surroundings, this is a great historical mystery, written so well that I can’t wait to read the next in the series
The history setting is well done.. well developed characters. Suspense maintained.
Good knowledge of the intrigues of the era
CJ Sansome’s first book in the Mathew Shardlake series. A wonderful historical book. Highly recommended if you like books on British history of the Tudor/Cromwell era.
This is one of my all-time favourite books. I first read it years ago and have re-read it 2 maybe 3 times. Superb story telling, fascinating world building, vivid characters AND an intriguing crime novel.
I love a history novel too, but this knocked my socks off – despite going to a CofE school and learning about Tudor England, it had never occurred to me how devastating the impact of the Dissolution was on social, health and education provision in Britain before I read this fabulous book.
A must read!
C.J Sansom is an incredibly talented writer.
Every page of Dissolution oozes with the smells and the sights of the Tudor era.
The world building and character building is second to none.
This story kicks off an incredible journey with Shardlake that I have read and reread many times.
My all time favourite author!
Dissolution is a murder mystery set in a monastery at the time of the—you guessed it—Dissolution. The reluctant investigator, a hunchbacked minion of Thomas Cromwell, is sent to discover the fate of an earlier commissioner, and he is instructed to do it fast before the king catches wind of the whole tawdry episode. He’s not happy about his assignment, the monks are not happy to entertain him, his assistant is not happy about the ethics involved; it’s just not a happy book. Written in first person, Matthew Shardlake tells us he is in constant pain, which interferes with his powers of concentration; he develops a schoolboy crush on the only female servant at the monastery and of course she rejects him; he comes face-to-face with the truth of Cromwell’s manipulations but clings stubbornly to his Protestant faith. Naturally, everyone had a secret agenda and there were too many suspects. There were a few scenes where I felt that the author finally hit his stride, but for the most part I found the book plodded along. Discovering the murderer was almost an anticlimax for me and I was happy to get to the end. I will say the prose was easy to read and I didn’t have any trouble finishing the story. It made for good bedtime reading.
Really good historical fiction. Enjoy!
Superbly written
Gripping story that unfolds in a richly told historical setting.
I have read & own all of C.J. Sansom’ Shardlake series. I hope that there will be another one.
The first in the series, so Shardlake, the hunchback lawyer, and Barak, bright but with-issues young man assisting him, have just met. This partnership is one of the best things about the books, but it’s really not always an easy one. The historical background is extremely well portrayed, not so much the lush satin and lace Tudor court side we’re used to but a grittier, darker setting. Plenty happens, too: it’s not just a tourist hop to Tudor England, but it’s all convincing.