Dissolution

CJ Sansom, a renowned historian, released this first fiction novel to huge acclaim. I was fascinated to find the investigator was a London lawyer during the reign of Henry VIII. It ticked all the boxes: history, a juicy murder, crime, and mystery. I was not disappointed. In my own writing, I endeavour to make my characters individual and memorable and, therefore, look for that in books I read.

The protagonist, lawyer Matthew Shardlake, has the brain, persistence, and vision of a Holmes or Poirot in uncovering the clues and is admired by all for his ability to win cases. Despite… show more.

I read this book years ago but had forgotten about it, until a rekindled friendship brought it back. My friend gushed about the series, and naturally, I knew there was something I had missed, as my friend practically has her own library, so her taste is never wrong. 

Clearly, I first read this book when I was too young. Upon re-reading, I was drawn in by the addictive isolation of the snowy monastery in 1537.

The whole book has a chilling factor enshrouding the mystery that kept me hooked. For a slow reader, I read it in just one weekend.… show more.

Ever since I was a child, I’ve adored murder-mysteries and thrillers, growing up on a diet of Agatha Christies and Dorothy L Sayers, so I was delighted when I picked up a copy of C J Sansom’s Dissolution, which is the first book in the Shardlake series. 

Dissolution is set in 1537, just after Henry VIII had made himself supreme head of the church in England and begun his dissolution of the monasteries – turbulent times. One of king’s commissioners is murdered during a visit to a monastery and lawyer Matthew Shardlake is tasked with investigating the murder.

I… show more.

Dissolution brings Tudor England of 1537 brilliantly to life. In vast detail, the book evokes all the sounds and smells of the period while dealing with the huge topic of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries in an engaging and interesting way. A cracking whodunnit in the classic sense which introduces Matthew Shardlake, lawyer turned detective. 

The first in Sansom’s dazzling series involving the exploits of London lawyer Matthew Shardlake as he grapples with the demands of Henry VIII and lethal lackey Thomas Cromwell. Comedy is not the essence of this tale, though there are comic moments, but it is certainly lively! As one who loves to be immersed in an atmosphere of intrigue and the occasional murder, this suited me admirably. It suited me even better that the sixteenth-century scene is so vividly evoked. My own novels are mainly light-hearted and frivolous, but the value of setting and context has always mattered. Without social context… show more.

During the period of dissolution of the English Catholic Church, King Henry VIII assigns a 16th-century attorney, Matthew Shardlake, to investigate the murder of a royal commissioner at a cathedral. He uncovers evidence of sexual abuse, treason, and embezzlement. 

I enjoyed this story as it told of an outsider hunting a murderer within a closed community protecting one of their own. Multiple transgressions have occurred, but the culprit could be more than one person. Many “wheels within a wheel” hide and complicate the evidence for Attorney Shardlake.

Dissolution is the first of C. J. Sansom’s magisterial 7 Matthew Shardlake mysteries, set during Tudor England’s Reformation. In 1537, Henry VIII’s feared Vicar General, Thomas Cromwell, sends Shardlake, a brilliant, hunchback lawyer, to investigate the murder of a royal commissioner who was investigating the Monastery of St. Donatus on the south English coast. Once an avid reformer, Shardlake is unsurprised to find embezzlement and sexual misconduct at the monastery, but he also recognizes the beauties of the services and the veniality of the men who will be enriched by the monastery’s dissolution. The portrait of Tudor politics, monasticism, and… show more.

Like the other authors on my list, CJ Sansom skilfully creates a whole world in his novels. This book takes the reader back to the sixteenth century, to the time of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. The protagonist, a lawyer and supporter of the religious reforms, is sent to investigate the brutal murder of one of the king’s commissioners. The story is gripping, but it is the historical detail that really captured my imagination, as Sansom takes the reader back to the 1500s. The narrator is a believable character, intelligent and thoughtful, and his struggle with his mission is… show more.

Set during and after the reign of Henry VIII, this series features the hunchback lawyer, Matthew Shardlake. First employed by Cromwell, he is sent to Scarnsea to solve the murder of a commissioner sent to ‘persuade’ the abbot to surrender the abbey during the dissolution of the monasteries. The seven novels in the series chart Shardlake’s shifting fortunes as his allegiance shifts from Cromwell to Henry and his last wife, Catherine Parr, and finally to the Lady Elizabeth and her advisor, the wily William Cecil. The crimes are carefully plotted, the characters keep you guessing, and the series presents a… show more.

Henry VIII, as Head of the Church, is determined to dissolve the monasteries. The description of the cold and damp 1537 England adds a depressing layer to the tension amongst the monks as Cromwell sends administrators around the country to evaluate their status.

When the administrator is beheaded in a Sussex monastery, a black cockerel is sacrificed on the altar, and the Relic disappears, Cromwell sends lawyer Dr. Matthew Shardlake to investigate. Shardlake, a hunchback who is often cruelly mocked, is a man of integrity and his sharp brain and grasp of detail confounds his distracters and takes the reader… show more.