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simon326's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
A superbly dark and thrilling adventure comes in this latest Shardlake mystery as the lawyer finds himself hunting perhaps his most dangerous villain yet - a twisted, but cunning serial killer - during the latter years of Henry VIII's reign. Again, the author does a fantastic job of portraying the historical events around which his story takes place and he captures the mood of the time well.
This is perhaps the darkest mystery yet and the nature of the crimes may leave some people feeling squeamish, including the main characters. However the sense of danger simply enhances the excitement and I again found the book impossible to put down.
This book also contains good character development for many of our by now familiar friends. I will avoid spoilers here, but I can say that I felt one particular change was very welcome. I felt that in previous books Shardlake was somew at passive and spent most of his time responding to events around him. However, in this book I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him play the role of the determined investigator, tracking down leads and making deductions as he hunted the villain.
Overall, perhaps the most tense and exciting Shardlake book to date (and that's saying something).
This is perhaps the darkest mystery yet and the nature of the crimes may leave some people feeling squeamish, including the main characters. However the sense of danger simply enhances the excitement and I again found the book impossible to put down.
This book also contains good character development for many of our by now familiar friends. I will avoid spoilers here, but I can say that I felt one particular change was very welcome. I felt that in previous books Shardlake was somew at passive and spent most of his time responding to events around him. However, in this book I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him play the role of the determined investigator, tracking down leads and making deductions as he hunted the villain.
Overall, perhaps the most tense and exciting Shardlake book to date (and that's saying something).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Cursing
Moderate: Sexual content
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