Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-18
• Binding: Paperback
• 463 pages

The Tablet, August 2003
...the ending is particularly satisfying: guilt is unmasked, but at the same time, as in life, unfinished business remains.

Synopsis
Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church and the country is waking up to savage new laws, rigged trials and the greatest network of informers ever seen. Under the order of Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners is sent through the country to investigate the monasteries. There can only be one outcome: the monasteries are to be dissolved. 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 is accompanied by equally sinister acts of sacrilege - a black cockerel sacrificed on the alter, and the disappearance of Scarnsea's Great Relic. Dr Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and long-time supporter of Reform, has been sent by Cromwell into this atmosphere of treachery and death. But Shardlake's investigation soon forces him to question everything he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes ...

Customer Reviews

Sadly disappointing
I was beginning to think I was the only person who found this book to be disappointing, after reading all the 5-star reviews on Amazon, and my family telling me I had to read it as it was 'wonderful, terrific' etc. I'm afraid I was disappointed. Firstly, I could not sympathise with ANY of the characters, especially Shardlake. I was disappointed that almost the whole story takes place within the monastery walls, which made me feel quite claustraphobic, longing to get out and see a bit more of the life and politics of the time! Although it seems historically sound and I enjoyed the little gems of information about the reformation and dissolution of the monasteries, and of life in those times, the plot just didn't grab me at all. It just seemed to be a series of one murder after another, happening to people I hadn't been able to symapthise with or identify with hardly at all. By the end I was just skipping whole paragraphs to get to the end and really couldn't have cared less 'whodunnit'. I can't understand how people have given it 5 stars! Uberto Eco's Name of the Rose is far superior...and maybe spoiled me?

Brilliant book
There aren't many books that can hold my attention but this one did. I saw an advertisment for C.J Sansom's book entitled, "Revelation" when I was on a trip to London recently and remarked I fancied reading it to which my mum replied that she already had 3 C.J Sansom books. I started with this, "Dissolution". I was hooked from the start. I really did not want it to end. It's a really enjoyable read and I'm onto my next one now. Apparently there are 4 in the Shardlake series so I've got some reading ahead of me! If you have an interest in history, then this is a really impressive read.

Excellent stuff
What an excellent read this was. Gripping from begining to end and left me wanting more from C J Sansom. Well ballanced characters and a believable plot all the way through. As good as it gets for this type of fiction and absolutely worth the read.