Dissolution (The Shardlake series, 1)

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First in a long running series, book 7 Tombland is out in October, Dissolution introduces lawyer and reformist, Dr. Others prove wonderful additions to the story, including monks, monastic assistants, and even members of Court who seek Shardlake’s quick responses to get to the bottom of events. Henry VIII has left the Catholic church and the country is divided between those faithful to the new Church of England, with Henry VIII as its head, and the Catholic church. Sansom himself was "Very Highly Commended" in the 2007 CWA Dagger in the Library award, for the Shardlake series. 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.

The wrong thought, turned into speech or deed, could land you at Tyburn- hung, wracked, beheaded, drawn and quartered, or burned at the stake. Interestingly, the author has chosen to give Shardlake a physical disability in the form of bent spine and hunched back, causing him discomfort of both the physical and mental kind. Not only is the king the head of the church, but he has been waging battles against those not to happy to be split from the Church of Rome. Dissolution is the first book in the series, where we meet Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer and occasional fixer for Thomas Cromwell.

if only Catherine of Aragon had say had an accident in the bath or had a bit of loose stone masonry fall on her head? I have a special affinity for historical mysteries and Dissolution is one of the good examples of this genre, at least for me.

In summary, DISSOLUTION is a lightweight easy-reading mystery that achieves much greater heights on the strength of the historical background and compelling re-creation of a particularly frightening political agenda. The language is lively, filled with fun and useful insults- I fully plan to wish a pox on anyone who annoys me today. The atmosphere of the country at that point in time, the uncertainty, the turmoil, with the shape of religion changing alongside the changing scope of power, is something that the author I felt has captured really well, as he does the details of everyday life in Tudor England. His disability seems uncomfortably close to being a plot device just to make him seem different, something of an outsider.This along with Shardlake’s unsuccessfulness with the ladies, results in a very damaged yet resolute commissioner. Dissolution, the first book in the Matthew Shardlake series, was a fast and cosy whodunit which helped to scratch that itch in the meantime. L'avvocato Matthew Shardlake diventerà un amico, lo conosci, soffri con lui, senti le sue paure in un periodo storico dove la giustizia non regna supremo, la medicina come la conosciamo noi non esiste … consiglio la lettura partendo dal primo libro - L'Enigma del Gallo Nero poi La scomparsa del Fuoco Greco e poi gli altri 5. A “red herring” is a device used in mysteries to throw the reader off the track of the true perpetrator. Even though I read a lot of history, I've never been a fan of historical fiction and so when one of the book clubs to which I belong picked this novel as a monthly read, I approached it with some trepidation.