Regular readers will know that I am a lover of a good series. The author has so much more time to develop their main character or characters slowly and carefully, rather than having to draw them in a few chapters. And coming to the end of a favourite series can be quite emotional.
Finding a new one is difficult. There is no shortage, but sorting the wheat from the chaff is not easy. The series that is right for you may not be right for me; after all, if you’re investing a lot of time – and money – in a dozen or so books, you need to get it right. Over the last year or so, whilst reading and reviewing books in other series, I have occasionally come across references to C J Sansom’s Shardlake books, so thought it was time to give them a go.
Dissolution is the first book in the series, where we meet Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer and occasional fixer for Thomas Cromwell. It is set in a time of great upheaval; Henry VIII has declared himself head of the English church, and his ministers are looking at ways of dismantling the power of the priesthood. Cromwell has carried out a thorough survey of all monasteries and religious houses, and is waiting for an opportunity to dissolve them. An earlier forceful attempt led to a rebellion, so alternatives are needed.
At Scarnsea monastery, one of his commissioners has been murdered, and he sends Matthew Shardlake to investigate what has happened. Scandal and bloodshed are the last things he wants in the current climate, and he needs a quick resolution to the incident. So Shardlake sets out with his assistant to solve the crime, and keep things quiet. Needless to say, things quickly become a lot more complicated.
The setting is superbly drawn; anxious times, when no-one knows who to trust, and everyone keeps their true feelings very close to their chest. This is especially true within a monastery like Scarnsea, where the monks have had their world and beliefs turned upside down. Public profession of the new rules is one thing, but can a man change his heart quite so easily? The suspicions and unease hanging over the monastery are very well portrayed. From the moment he arrives, Shardlake is very aware that everything he is being told is what people want him to hear, rather than necessarily the truth.
Shardlake is a likeable character, if a little cliched. A man of strong pro-reform views, he believes in the work Cromwell is doing, and is happy to be a part of it. But for me, he is somewhat naïve, given that he is a lawyer who operates very close to the heart of the court. His disability seems uncomfortably close to being a plot device just to make him seem different, something of an outsider.
The characters vary considerably in their depth. One or two are really well-drawn; they have real character and personality, and a story of their own. Among them are a doctor and a monk who has been hidden in the monastery for political reasons. Others are less rounded; Shardlake’s assistant, Mark Poer, didn’t work for me from the beginning, and his part in the story continued to be a weakness.
The climax of the story also disappointed. It will not surprise you to know that the original murder is not the only one in the book, and other crimes appear. When we find out who did what and why, I found one or two of the resolutions hard to believe, and something of an anti-climax.
Nevertheless, I will be reading the second book. Why? Well, we have all read series where the quality varies between episodes. It’s inevitable; an author cannot maintain the same level all the time. Sansom has given us the basic essence of Matthew Shardlake, and I still want to see where he takes him from here.
This is a review of the Pan Books 2015 Kindle edition.
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