Fountains of blood and more!

Life in the time of King Henry VIII is as unstable as always, but lawyer Matthew Shardlake is jarred out of his comfortable routine working at the Inns of Court by the murder of his friend Roger Elliard. It turns out to be only one in a series of murders committed in the latest Shardlake mystery Revelation by C.J. Sansom. Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak are further disturbed when they discover that the killer is apparently enacting punishments from the Book of Revelation for his victims. They discover what is happening, how many murders are left, and the probable fate that awaits the victims, but they don't know who the killer is or where he will strike next. Because one of the early victims of the killer had a connection to Lady Catherine Parr, the latest woman to catch King Henry's eye, powerful men induce Shardlake to investigate the killings, but to keep the matter private.

At the same time, Shardlake has been asked to represent a teen aged boy who is being held in Bedlam with religious mania. While trying to track down a deranged killer, Shardlake must make frequent trips to the asylum to monitor the condition and progress of his charge.

The events in Revelation take place around 18 months after the last book in the series, Sovereign, ended and our old friends from the earlier books again play a large part in the story. Barak and Tamasin are now married but are becoming increasingly estranged after a personal tragedy. Guy, now practicing as a doctor, also has some unpleasant experiences with a young apprentice.

I enjoyed this return to the Tudor days of England. As always, there were plenty of details about life at that time, which helped to bring the story to life. There were also many threads which were left dangling for possible future adventures for Shardlake and Barak, so I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment! So far, my favorite book in the series has been Dark Fire, where the two heroes were constantly in perilous situations. The other books have been exciting also, but not as suspenseful.

Final Verdict for Revelation: Four Gherkins, for being an evocative look at a fascinating time in history

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What is a mouldwarp, anyway?

Lawyer Matthew Shardlake is unwillingly thrown into another adventure involving the court of King Henry VIII in C.J. Sansom's third book of the series, Sovereign. In this outing, Shardlake and his trusty companion Jack Barak are in York with "the progress," a visit by the King and his enormous entourage to northern England. The northern part of England had been threatening rebellion for some time, and the king's visit was meant to reinforce his authority over the territory. In addition to the regal show of force, Henry plans to demonstrate his benevolence by agreeing to hear disputes filed by parties in the city. This is where the lawyers come in, as they are the ones who will actually review and decide the cases after the king has "ceremoniously" agreed to look at them.

Shardlake and Barak soon discover that there are still many in northern England who would like to see the king overthrown and the country returned to the Catholic faith. One of Shardlake's other duties while in York involves looking after the health of a conspirator who is currently imprisoned and charged with treason. The authorities want to make sure the man reaches London in one piece, where he can be properly tortured into revealing the names of other conspirators.

Naturally, several mysterious deaths occur which place Shardlake in danger on several levels. He comes across a dying man who whispers information that seems to indicate that the king is not of royal blood. While attempting to sort out what that information could mean, Shardlake is the victim of numerous attempts on his life. At the same time, powerful men surrounding the king have their own agendas and reasons for wanting to keep information hidden. Unfortunately for him, Shardlake also stumbles onto a secret about the young queen, Catherine Howard, which also has disastrous consequences for him.

There are numerous people mentioned that require frequent visits to Wikipedia in order to find out what happened to everyone: the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Culpepper, Lady Rochford , Thomas Cranmer, Richard Rich, Francis Dereham, etc. I am really enjoying this series, and will be sad to finish the next and so far last book in the series. Hopefully, C.J. Sansom is hard at work on the fifth book!

Final Verdict for Sovereign: Four Gherkins, for being a thrilling look back at a fascinating time in history

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At great risk of getting burned

King Henry VIII's favorite hunchback lawyer, Matthew Shardlake makes another appearance in Dark Fire, the second book in the series by C.J. Sansom. After having (as he thought) distanced himself from the King's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, at the end of the last book, Shardlake is looking forward to returning to his quiet life as a lawyer in London.

He is quickly to learn that his life is going to be anything but quiet. He is convinced to take on the defense of a teen aged girl who is being accused of having thrown her 12 year old cousin down a well. Making matters more difficult, the girl refuses to speak or enter a plea to the charges in court. At that time, the response to such willful disobedience to the court was pressing under heavy stones until either a plea was entered, or death occurred.

While working on this perplexing case, Matthew is once again summoned to the offices of Thomas Cromwell. It seems that the king has heard that the ancient and deadly weapon Greek Fire has been rediscovered. A pair of brothers, who worked as alchemists, had arranged a demonstration of Greek Fire which had greatly intrigued the king. Unfortunately, the brothers had been found murdered, with no trace of the Greek Fire or any instructions on how to make it. Since Cromwell felt his influence with the king slipping away, he was desperate to obtain the secret for how to make Greek Fire. This time, in sending Matthew out on his dangerous task, he sends along an assistant, the brutish thug Jack Barack to help to persuade those who might not wish to speak.

More murders follow, and Matthew and Jack always seem to be one step behind the killers. At the same time, there are visits to the prison cell of the accused girl and her family, nearly all of whom think she's guilty. Aside from the conflicts plaguing Matthew, there are plenty of conflicts between factions loyal to Cromwell and those loyal to the Duke of Norfolk, and the always uneasy balance between Catholics and Protestants. It was an extremely dangerous time, when someone who was a favorite at court one day could be beheaded for treason the next.

In contrast to the first book, this book seems to have much more action. There are numerous times when Matthew and Jack find themselves backed into a corner, with no possible escape. Talk about suspense! I'm now extremely anxious to read the two follow-up books to find out what Matthew gets up to next!

Final Verdict for Dark Fire: Four Gherkins, for being a suspenseful page-turner with many interesting historical facts thrown in

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Brother, can you spare a corpse?

In the year 1537, King Henry VIII and his vicar general, Thomas Cromwell, are busily going about the country gaining the land and riches formerly owned by monasteries. The inhabitants of the monasteries, not surprisingly, are none too thrilled with this turn of events. That is the setting for the creepy mystery Dissolution by C.J. Sansom.

Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer who also happens to be a hunchback, is employed by Cromwell to travel to the monastery at Scarnsea to investigate a murder. Cromwell had previously sent an envoy there to investigate the monastery's finances, and that man had been murdered. Shardlake and his assistant, Mark Poer, arrive to investigate but discover that there are other dark deeds and dead bodies to contend with at the monastery.

The story is a bit confusing, with all the monks being "brother" somebody. One of the monks stutters, which helps to identify him, but there are a confusing number of them to keep straight otherwise. I listened to the audio book version, so it was sometimes difficult to remember which "brother" was speaking. The historical facts are also fascinating, and the setting, an 11th century dank and creepy monastery, adds a great deal of atmosphere to the story.

This is the first Matthew Shardlake story in what so far has been a four book series. I also read on Bookbrowse that Kenneth Branagh has been tapped to play Shardlake in the BBC version of Dissolution. So expect to hear more from the Tudor lawyer!

An aside: Speaking of Kenneth Branagh, who played Kurt Wallander in the series Wallander, author Henning Mankell has announced that he has written the final Wallander book. It will be published in Sweden in August, with the English translation surely soon to follow. I know that he said that The Pyramid would be the last novel with Kurt Wallander as the main character, but he really means it this time!

Final Verdict for Dissolution: Three Gherkins, for being an interesting historical mystery

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