Dissolution (The Shardlake series, 1)

Product Information

Cromwell has carried out a thorough survey of all monasteries and religious houses, and is waiting for an opportunity to dissolve them.

Cromwell, with very thinly veiled threats has made it quite clear that Shardlake's failure to complete the mission will be seen as evidence of questionable loyalty to the Reformation program. Needless to say, Shardlake does have to flash his credentials a few times when insisting he can demand access to everything. Readers, however, are left eager for another chance to meet this exceptionally rich and challenging protagonist. A great read and highly recommended if like me you love crime / thrillers set in an historical context. Like so many authors, Sansom relies heavily on the age old literary device of the bad boys of the piece never knowing when to shut up.Then, after a crisis of confidence, I decided to just bash on and finish and I did the second half in six weeks. Shardlake’s first outing was not perhaps as complicated in terms of the mystery threads in the story as the later ones, which is not to say by any means that it was an easy case—there were many threads to this as well, and the answers when they are revealed are not quite what one expected (incidentally, I did successfully guess one part of it, so the surprise element was definitely there).

I have a special affinity for historical mysteries and Dissolution is one of the good examples of this genre, at least for me. The slow teasing out of their drives and motivations was executed brilliantly, and this book really showed itself to be one of the best at handling mystery that I have had the pleasure to read. The author has so much more time to develop their main character or characters slowly and carefully, rather than having to draw them in a few chapters. I confess I saw the details of the murder investigation and the ultimate solution to the murder as entertaining but relatively pedestrian as mysteries go. Think of the lives that would have been saved if Henry the 8th in one of his many mishaps had crushed his balls or better yet sliced his dinger off.Whether it was the dangerous and crowded streets of London, the dank and ominous bureaucracy of Cromwell or the infested monastery where the primary action takes place, there was a palpable grittiness to the descriptions. The festive holidays are the perfect time to escape the cold, cosy up with a hot drink and lose yourself in a new book. Shardlake is sent to Scarnsea to investigate the murder of his fellow commissioner and discovers a much more tangled web than he expected. On the whole the reader is presented with a satisfying detective story which would baffle Scotland Yard’s finest if it were set in a later period. His jaw held thus made me think of a great trap that at any moment might open and swallow one whole with a casual gulp.

In Henry VIII's reign old institutions and religious practices are threatened and as Matthew Shardlake enters Scarnsea it becomes clear he may be too. I should, however, stay away from historical fiction set centuries back in time as aspects of the period coming into contact with modern sensibilities grate on me big time. Two quotes-- Catholic Church holy relics: "They say that there are two headed dragons in the Indies. Considering the large, if confined, cast of characters and the intricate plot twists, how did you keep the narrative on course?

It is too much to expect that people can just flip a switch and do away with beliefs that have sustained them their whole lives. The murder draws Shardlake into the depths of contemporary religious and political scheming, opening his eyes to its deadly consequences.

Set in 1537 and told in the first person, Matthew Shardlake (a King’s Commissioner) must investigate the brutal killing of the previous King's Commissioner, Robin Singleton at Scarnsea monastery.The action is set in the time of (in)famous king Henry VIII and it has as main character a hunchback lawyer under the service of the equally famous and controversial figure, Thomas Cromwell. Sansom has given us the basic essence of Matthew Shardlake, and I still want to see where he takes him from here.