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btrlymv's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Racism
the_cheerful_necromancer's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A pretty good Historical Fiction. A few historical inaccuracies here and there, mostly in the use of language, but I doubt the layman reader would notice, so it doesn't really matter. The mystery was pretty solid, too, and it resolved itself satisfyingly enough. Worth a look, I'd say.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Misogyny, and Racism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child death
Reader beware that this book is set in the Tudor era, and as such, every minority character is going to have a pretty bad time. Our POV character, fortunately, is not violently bigoted, but he is a "product of his time" even so.buildingtaste's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A well-paced mystery with an immersive setting. The final twists got a little messy, but I am looking forward to future Shardlake stories. Also quite a diverse bunch for 2003.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Torture, Blood, Murder, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Animal death
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Misogyny
Not at all in the cozy camp of mysteries. Lakes of blood and extensive torture, corruption, abuse, etc.gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Details:
Narrated by BBC full cast dramatisation
Unabridged
I've been interested in trying out these books for a long time. Honestly, it's the covers and title font that intrigued me, but when I read The blurb, I figured it was a niche of genre that didn't appeal to me greatly, but still left me curious.
When I saw that Borrowbox had a dramatisation of it, with a full cast (produced by the BBC), I was excited to give it a go and despite not being well versed in this period of history, I found the murder mystery aspect really engaging and filled with red herrings that kept me guessing.
I don't think this would be a super strong series for me in the long run, just because I'm missing the crucial appreciation of the time period and characters this utilises, so I imagine it may be one I'll read a few books of and then just leave it at that.
That being said, I thought it was a brilliant performance and whilst I have the sequel on loan I'll give that a listen too.
Narrated by BBC full cast dramatisation
Unabridged
I've been interested in trying out these books for a long time. Honestly, it's the covers and title font that intrigued me, but when I read The blurb, I figured it was a niche of genre that didn't appeal to me greatly, but still left me curious.
When I saw that Borrowbox had a dramatisation of it, with a full cast (produced by the BBC), I was excited to give it a go and despite not being well versed in this period of history, I found the murder mystery aspect really engaging and filled with red herrings that kept me guessing.
I don't think this would be a super strong series for me in the long run, just because I'm missing the crucial appreciation of the time period and characters this utilises, so I imagine it may be one I'll read a few books of and then just leave it at that.
That being said, I thought it was a brilliant performance and whilst I have the sequel on loan I'll give that a listen too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
cin19's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Medical content, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Torture, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Racism, Homophobia, and Violence
thelassinlinen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Violence, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Bullying, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Death, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Sexual content, Medical content, Murder, Torture, and Sexual assault
asourceoffiction's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a fantastic murder mystery that kept me guessing, and I love the backdrop of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries. I've read the fourth book in this series and this was definitely more engaging from the beginning, drawing me in by setting it inside a monastery at risk where everything is fuelled by paranoia and religious reform.
Shardlake is a great protagonist to get behind and his struggles with what he learns about Cromwell are brilliant to read, alongside the complex web of murder that runs through Scarnsea. I love how the characters develop and was surprised a few times by the direction the story took.
I really like how Sansom combines history and fiction, and throws in a little educated speculation of his own (particularly when it comes to Cromwell and Anne Boleyn). It serves the narrative really well, and makes this a brilliant, engrossing story; I'll definitely be seeking out the rest of the series.
Shardlake is a great protagonist to get behind and his struggles with what he learns about Cromwell are brilliant to read, alongside the complex web of murder that runs through Scarnsea. I love how the characters develop and was surprised a few times by the direction the story took.
I really like how Sansom combines history and fiction, and throws in a little educated speculation of his own (particularly when it comes to Cromwell and Anne Boleyn). It serves the narrative really well, and makes this a brilliant, engrossing story; I'll definitely be seeking out the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Murder
sas_lk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
very unexpected, but really liked it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, and Racism
Minor: Sexual harassment
singalana's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Animal death, Fatphobia, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Child death, Kidnapping, Murder, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Torture, and Homophobia
prashiie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The first book of the Shardlake series. It takes us back to the 16th century, during the reign of King Henry VIII after Queen Jane just died. Personally, I enjoy this time period a lot! I've mainly seen the English Reformation from the point of view of the royals, but haven't really dived into what that meant for the citizens, how the reformation took place.
Thomas Cromwell sends Matthew Shardlake to a monastery to investigate the murder of master Singleton, a commissioner Lord Cromwell sent before. Matthew is described to be a hunchback. In earlier times, people believed that touching a hunchback will bring ill-fortune, which I found very sad. He can be very generous at some times, but also harsh, especially towards people he envies. I really liked his character! He wasn't without his flaws and that brings a lot of realism to the story. This book also brought to light a lot of the hypocrisy and scams of the Catholic church and it was also interesting to see the state of medicine at that time, mentions of black bile etc.
The first book of the Shardlake series. It takes us back to the 16th century, during the reign of King Henry VIII after Queen Jane just died. Personally, I enjoy this time period a lot! I've mainly seen the English Reformation from the POV of the royals, but haven't really dived into what that meant for the citizens, how the reformation took place. Thomas Cromwell sends Matthew Shardlake to a monastery to investigate the murder of master Singleton, a commissioner Lord Cromwell sent before.
A lot of the hypocrisy and scams of the Catholic church were described in this book. It's also interesting to see the state of medicine at that time, mentions of black bile etc. Matthew is described to be a hunchback. In earlier times, people believed that touching a hunchback will bring ill-fortune. He can be very generous at some times, but also harsh especially towards people he envies. I really liked his character! He wasn't without his flaws and that brings a lot of realism to the story.
Matthew starts off with Lord Cromwell and Mark Poer at his side, but ends up alone. At the beginning he was a convinced reformist, but at the end of the book he sees both sides and decides to be neither a reformist nor a papist. The killer is shown to be the former lover of Mark Smeaton, the boy who got wrongly executed for treason and adultery with Queen Anne. He was the scapegoat and Alice decided to get revenge. Shardlake always thought Lord Cromwell to behave morally and was happy to be a part of the Reformation. But everything that happened showed him that it isn't black or white, Cromwell wants to see results by any means necessary. Eventually Shardlake's firm believes are also dissolved.
A lot of the hypocrisy and scams of the Catholic church were described in this book. It's also interesting to see the state of medicine at that time, mentions of black bile etc. Matthew is described to be a hunchback. In earlier times, people believed that touching a hunchback will bring ill-fortune. He can be very generous at some times, but also harsh especially towards people he envies. I really liked his character! He wasn't without his flaws and that brings a lot of realism to the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Bullying, Animal death, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Violence and Sexual harassment