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Editorial Review:
'Between them, Sansom and Starkey have the 16th century licked.'
'A parchment turner, and a regal one at that.'
It’s deeper, stronger and subtler than most novels in this genre (including Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose) . . . ‘
This gripping and engaging series seems ominously prescient about the present, as well as genuinely enlightening about the past’
‘This series just gets better and better’
'deeper, stronger and subtler than most novels in this genre..The series is becoming an annual treat'
'This is a compelling read, vividly capturing the atmosphere of constant fear'
'Don’t open this book if you have anything urgent pending...you’ll have to be almost physically prised away from it.'
'Sansom is excellent on contemporary horrors...You can lose yourself in this world.'
'Historical crime fiction at its best.’
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
The best Shardlake yet. Having read the previous Matthew Shardlake novels I was eager to read this one. I wasn't disappointed - it is easily the best one yet. What I liked most was the brilliant evocation of the cruelty of Tudor England. The religious fanaticism has been done before, as has the treachery and power politics along with the corruption, but the way these were all melded together and the thorny subject of judicial torture thrown in it made the story basically become a lot darker. The idea of the events taking... more info
Very Disappointing! most of the positive reviews of this book must be coming from C.J.Sansom fans and in fairness the first two and the fourth novel of the Shradlake series are brilliant.
This third sequel though appears to have been part of a publisher's deal that had to be written without the author's heart in it.
The story is dragging on endlessly without many peaks, Shardlake is completely out of his wits and not himself. There are MANY mistakes like one minute he is riding, next sentence he is not, then he... more info
Great stuff, a little too long This third entry in the Shardlake series is as detailed and vivid as the previous two entries. The plot is rather convoluted and I found it a little implausible, though I was aware of the Blaybourne allegations from my reading of Yorkist history, and, of course, it must be admitted that Tudor history is replete with true occurrences that the most fanciful historical novelist would hardly dare invent (would a novelist ever invent the story of Henry VIII's six wives? no, it would probably be too implausible... more info
Pedant's Corner I like the Shardlake books: the let a person while away a week of winter evenings and painlessly absorb some history at the same time. This one, though, wasn't quite up to scratch. Sometimes the psychological reality slips (such as when Shardlake has a tooth tortured out of him: I felt I was more bothered by it than he was). And I kept feeling that some of the details just didn't quite ring true... and then we set sail from Hull, and the whole book promptly lost all credibility. Warning: pedantic rant... more info
