This is Tudor whodunit, set in the reign of Henry VIII. Shardlake is a commissionaire for Lord Cromwell and is asked to go to a monastery to investigate the murder of the last commissionaire who was there. He arrives with his assistant and sets about trying to find the murderer. Whilst he is there the body count starts to rise. He is suspicious of the motives behind why the monks are doing certain things, and he starts to get under the skin of the abbot and prior in the hope of flushing out the murderer. I really enjoyed this, I had been meaning to read it for a while. The main character Shardlake, is a careful man, who has suffered from a disfiguring disability. He is not scared to provoke a reaction from the monks with the aim of getting to the bottom of the murder. Shardlake learns some unpleasant truths about the power play that goes on between monarch and state and the individual players in that game. There was a good twist at the end, especially as I though I had worked out who I thought the murderer was.

A brilliant medieval who dunnit. I had a few late nights as I couldn't put this book down. A real page turner where the narrative grips your attention and the characters are sympathetic, likeable and well drawn. just a few too many 'God's bloods' for me but otherwise a brilliant and enjoyable novel. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Coming rather late to the party on this one, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and it mostly lives up to its hype! Ever a popular book with our customers, this first Installment in the Shardlake mysteries is brilliant. It is a good read, with all the elements you expect of it- likeable, fully developed characters, a brilliant setting and good writing. The thing I liked most was its originality, it was a fantastic premise of events in which to make a thriller work- during the turbulent times of Henry VIII's reign.

DISSOLUTION is the first of the Shardelake series, set in Tudor England. With the political and religious climate coming to a head, one of the king's representatives is found beheaded in a monastery earmarked for closure. Matthew Shardlake, a hump-backed lawyer, is sent to investigate with his clerk Mark. Indeed, this has more than one resemblance to Eco's THE NAME OF THE ROSE, set in a monastery in bad weather, with monks and servants alike hiding things from their past, things which become more important as the deaths start to mount up. On the whole, however, in many ways I found this easier than Eco's masterpiece, though just as gripping, guaranteed to keep you hooked until the end. Those who enjoy a good crime thriller, as well as aficionados of historical fiction will appreciate Sansom's evocation of sixteenth-century England. If you liked this, as well as THE NAME OF THE ROSE, I would also happily recommend Blissett's Q.