Helpful Score: 7
Matthew Shardlake is sent to unravel the mystery of a murder at a monastery. While there, he uncovers corruption, perversion, greed, and an additional couple of bodies.
Dissolution is clearly researched and gives an interesting glimpse into the conflict between Catholicism and the Church of England. The author has a doctorate in history, and his obsession with Tudor England is clear. If you, like I, do not enjoy reading about things of that time (hunchbacks, smelly monks, floggings, etc.) you will likely not enjoy this book. If hair shirts are your thing you will like it.
Dissolution is clearly researched and gives an interesting glimpse into the conflict between Catholicism and the Church of England. The author has a doctorate in history, and his obsession with Tudor England is clear. If you, like I, do not enjoy reading about things of that time (hunchbacks, smelly monks, floggings, etc.) you will likely not enjoy this book. If hair shirts are your thing you will like it.
Helpful Score: 1
I like historic fiction and mysteries, and this was both. I enjoyed it very much. The period of the Dissolution seems to be comparable to the corruption in politics in every generation.
Helpful Score: 1
This is an excellent, well-written novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it, couldn't put it down.
Helpful Score: 1
It seemed a little slow at the begining, but then I was hooked! Very interesting mystery.
Helpful Score: 1
If you're an English history buff, and especially if you love the reign of Henry VIII period, don't miss this wonderful mystery! Set in the time frame just after the execution of Ann Boleyn, the main character, Matthew Shardlake, embarks on a secret mission, ordered by none other than the King's man, Thomas Cromwell. The story is very tightly woven, laced with excellent historical fact and a lot of fun to read. What I liked is that I couldn't see the ending coming halfway through the book! It kept me guessing, all the while enjoying the ambiance of early Renaissance England during the time of the dissolution of the monasteries. Wonderful mixture of mystery and history. Loved it!
This is a great mystery that takes place in Tudor England.
Rich details and characterization...a window into the upheaval of the Reformation on all. Keeps you engaged and guessing right up until the end.
It's a good who done it set in the upheaval of Tudor England. The characters are engaging and intriguing. It was a great read for my commute.
This is a great series; I've loved all five books.
Last night I finished Dissolution by C.J. Sansom. This is the first of the Matthew Shardlake books. After all the favorable comments Ive read about this series, I have to say I was quite disappointed.
The overall story is generally somewhat interesting, but the Shardlake character was rather narrow-minded and insensitive, particularly in how he deals with his protege Mark Poer, to whom he never seems to make an encouraging or positive remark. At the end, as a matter of fact, Mark comments that Shardlake never really listened to him, just used him as a sounding board for Shardlakes own opinions and prejudices. I was also surprised that, for a man who had some reputation at solving mysteries, many times Shardlake failed to follow up on an idea or a clue, being diverted to something else (often trivial), and apparently losing that thread of thinking for quite a time. At one point, for instance, hes climbed up onto a workmans scaffolding sort of thing in the church and sees a big basket of tools; you think hes going to look in it for the missing church relics, you can almost see the thought going through his mind, and then he moves right past it.
If this had been more poorly written, because the author is pretty skillful with language and bits of what we have to think are fairly authentic glimpses of Tudor life, or if the book had been longer, Id never have finished it. As it was, I read it in bits and pieces over 3 weeks, which is a long, long time for me to take over one book.
The overall story is generally somewhat interesting, but the Shardlake character was rather narrow-minded and insensitive, particularly in how he deals with his protege Mark Poer, to whom he never seems to make an encouraging or positive remark. At the end, as a matter of fact, Mark comments that Shardlake never really listened to him, just used him as a sounding board for Shardlakes own opinions and prejudices. I was also surprised that, for a man who had some reputation at solving mysteries, many times Shardlake failed to follow up on an idea or a clue, being diverted to something else (often trivial), and apparently losing that thread of thinking for quite a time. At one point, for instance, hes climbed up onto a workmans scaffolding sort of thing in the church and sees a big basket of tools; you think hes going to look in it for the missing church relics, you can almost see the thought going through his mind, and then he moves right past it.
If this had been more poorly written, because the author is pretty skillful with language and bits of what we have to think are fairly authentic glimpses of Tudor life, or if the book had been longer, Id never have finished it. As it was, I read it in bits and pieces over 3 weeks, which is a long, long time for me to take over one book.
I have always been a fan of books about Tudor England. This series combines that era with a terriffic mystery. I read this book in two days and couldn't wait to start the next in the series!
Tudor England - first book in series
