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thebookishowl4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Death, Body shaming, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Gore, Torture, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Racism, Classism, Mental illness, and Homophobia
btrlymv's review
- 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
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Racism
the_cheerful_necromancer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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
- 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
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
- 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
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.
Graphic: Murder and Death
cin19's review against another edition
- 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
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
4.0
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
- 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
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.
Graphic: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Murder
sas_lk's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, and Racism
Minor: Sexual harassment
singalana's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Animal death, Fatphobia, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Child death, Kidnapping, Murder, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Torture, and Homophobia