I'm partway through C.J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake Mysteries. They're set in England during Henry VIII's reign, and feature historical characters like Thomas Cromwell.
I'm loving these so far. Matthew Shardlake is a London lawyer who begins as an ardent Reformer but starts going through a crisis of faith as he sees that Cromwell is just as corrupt (and spilling just as much blood) as the Catholics in power before him.
Matthew solves murders with a loyal but uncouth rogue named Jack Barak, a patralineal descendant of converso Jews. Jack isn't much religious, but he has a sentimental (and potentially dangerous) attachment to his Jewish heritage.
I adore Jack and his relationship with Matthew. (Is it a bromantic friendship? More father-son? Maybe it's a bit of both.) Sadly, Jack doesn't come in till the second book, but the first one is worth reading anyway.
I love mysteries, history and religious issues, so these books are perfect for me. Overall, I think Sansom does a brilliant job of bringing the Tudor period to life. The mysteries themselves are so-so, but since I love the characters and setting, I'm ok with that.
My Goodreads Review of Dissolution: short and to the point!
My Goodreads Review of Dark Fire: more in depth!
My Goodreads Review of Sovereign: also in depth!
No comments:
Post a Comment