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Dissolution: A Darkly Atmospheric Murder Mystery from the Bestselling Historical Series - The Shardlake series (Paperback)
C. J. Sansom (author)Published: 09/05/2024
Launching one of our favourite historical fiction series, the peerless Dissolution introduces Tudor lawyer Matthew Shardlake as he roots out murder in the marshes.
Dissolution is the first novel in C. J. Sansom’s phenomenal bestselling Shardlake series, perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel and Phillipa Gregory. After one of Cromwell's commissioners is brutally murdered, Matthew Shardlake is drawn into an investigation that becomes darker than he could have ever imagined . . .
England, 1537. It is a time of revolution that sees the greatest changes in England since 1066. Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church. The country is waking up to savage new laws, rigged trials and the greatest network of informers it has ever seen. And under the orders of Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners is sent throughout the country to investigate the monasteries. There can only be one outcome: dissolution.
But on the Sussex coast, at the monastery of Scarnsea, events have spiralled out of control. Cromwell's commissioner, Robin Singleton, has been found dead, his head severed from his body. His horrific murder accompanied by equally sinister acts of sacrilege.
Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and long-time supporter of Reform, has been sent by Cromwell to uncover the truth behind the dark happenings at Scarnsea. But Shardlake's investigation soon forces him to question everything that he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes.
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781035012282
Number of pages: 480
Weight: 326 g
Dimensions: 197 x 130 x 30 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Dissolution by the late, great C. J. Sansom is our introduction to Matthew Shardlake: a disabled barrister with a keen legal mind, whose criminal investigations during the reign of Henry VIII bring Tudor England to vivid life . . . The turmoil of the time – religious and social – adds a layer of peril to this twisty murder mystery . . . Dissolution is at once a fiendish puzzle and a slice of gritty historical fiction, with a brilliantly unconventional detective at its heart - Richard Osman, bestselling author of We Solve Murders, WSJ
Remarkable . . . The sights, the voices, the very smell of this turbulent age seem to rise from the page - P. D. James, author of the Inspector Adam Dalgliesh series
Extraordinarily impressive. The best crime novel I have read this year - Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse series
Terrific. Historical fiction at its finest - Peter Robinson, author of the Inspector Alan Banks series
Terrific . . . a remarkable, imaginative feat. It is a first-rate murder mystery and one of the most atmospheric historical novels I’ve read in years - Mail on Sunday
Dissolution is not just a fascinating detective story, but a convincing portrait of a turbulent period - Sunday Telegraph
Matthew Shardlake combines engrossing historical detail with a first-rate murder mystery. A really satisfying page-turner - Independent
Sansom has a greater talent for animating period details than most of his contemporaries; his rendering of the Tudor winter in the first of the Shardlake series makes you reach for thick fleece blankets - The Guardian
I don’t read historical novels any more — it’s a busman’s holiday — but I make an exception for C. J. Sansom’s Shardlake books, which are set amid the uncertainties of the sixteenth-century Henrician Reformation - Bernard Cornwell, The Times, ‘The 25 books you must read’
CJ Sansom’s books are arguably the best Tudor novels going - Sunday Times
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“Bring on Book 2!”
Such a richly woven tale of murder and mystery set in the unlikely setting of a Tudor monastery. I was hooked from page one and literally couldn't have guessed 'whodunit'! Filled with great plot twists... More
“Great Historical Whodunit”
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... More
“Dissolution”
This book had me gripped from the first page. I couldn't put it down. You just don't want it to end. Grab a glass of wine, light the candles and go back to the darker side of Tudor England. Brilliant!
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