One of the best series about
I wasn't to sure when I picked the first book up, but then I read it and then promptly bought the next one, and so on. This series is a must for anyone who enjoys reading.
Scary & rivetting
I'm a newcomer to the Shardlake series so I've only been able to buy the paperbacks; a pity since I can tell that I'm going to read them again and again. As a lawyer I can tell that the legal research is impeccable and as a fan of historical novels the wealth of fine detail makes me wholly comfortable in Sansom's London.
More please Mr Sansom.
Simply amazing!
I loved this book - couldn't put it down. You can really see, smell and taste life in tudor England. A brilliant, unputdownable read which i will be recommending to friends and family. Sansom's books just keep getting better and better! Roll on the next Shardlake mystery.
Totally Absorbing
Having only read the first book of the Shardlake series (which was good), I decided to dive into this one on a whim, and I'm glad I did. The story of a Tudor serial killer is a hundred times more terrifying than a modern-day one as crimes were so easy to get away with then, and that is something the author plays on right until the very end. While this is an exciting read, it is also an informative one. However, although Sansom is undoubtedly a great historian, it is difficult to know how much of the action is actually true to life, and so you just have to take his word for it. The detailed descriptions of a grim, filthy Tudor London are fascinating and really carry the story along. Very long but highly recommended.
Preposterous plot, but excellent book
It is a truism that all authors operating in the historical crime genre will eventually write a story involving sewers. This is Sansom's. In fairness it must get progressively more difficult to think of plots in each of the volumes in a series of such novels. The author solves his dilemma by throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the fourth Shardlake book. However, he can write and has a grasp of period detail which is plenty convincing enough to carry lay readers along. This reader at least therefore was carried along strongly enough with the flow to overlook the extremely unlikely route we were taking.
