From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Dissolution (Matthew Shardlake, #1)

C.J. Sansom

Start date: January 15, 2023

Finish date: February 7, 2023

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: First book in this popular historical mystery series.
[close] First book in this popular historical mystery series.

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What Members Thought

Aug 19, 2021 Infosifter rated it really liked it

What is a sincere person to do when both sides in a conflict claim to have God's favor and to be doing His will, but their actions tell a different story? This is the position the lawyer Matthew Shardlake finds himself in when Thomas Cromwell sends him to solve a murder at a monastery which Cromwell is scheming to close down. But while the monasteries are rife with corruption, many in the reform movement are motivated by greed rather than love for God, believing that the accomplishment of their ...more

16 likes · Like · see review

Jul 12, 2017 John Frankham rated it it was amazing

Shelves: crime-detective

A book club re-read in 2024. Extra careful reading showed its qualities: 5*

2017. A re-read for me, after 10 years, to start reading the whole series of six, the others as yet unread. Only just 4* rather than 3*.

Interesting as a picture of England as Henry VIII, with the assistance of Thomas Cromwell, destroys the corrupted monasteries.

Competent as a whodunnit, told in the first person by Cromwell's commissioner, Matthew Shardlake.

"Henry VIII has ordered the dissolution of the monasteries and Eng ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

May 27, 2019 Jen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5*
Who would have thought a book about a bunch of monks would enthrall me so much.
Really enjoyed this tale of monks, murder and religious turmoil. The writing is so effortless you find yourself completely absorbed and thinking, 'just a few more pages'. Well written, well paced medieval whodunnit. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 10, 2020 Sandy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-detective-grp, mystery-historical, rread-2020, own, series-completed, z2020-own-24, z2023-settings, rread-2023

What a wonderful lead character! The history seems accurate, and the story is very interesting. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Re-read Jan 2023 on audio and added a fifth star. Great story, wonderful characters and very atmospheric sense of time and place. The narrator is excellent.

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Nov 19, 2017 Melanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction

Loved this book! It was great to "meet" Matthew Shardlake and travel on the journey with him. I love the fact that they created him to be different. ...more

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