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| Dissolution (Matthew Shardlake 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: C.j. Sansom
Publisher: Pan Books
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £1.33
You Save: £6.66 (83%)
New (27) Used (14) from £1.19
Avg. Customer Rating:  62 reviews
Sales Rank: 178
Media: Paperback
Pages: 463
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 4.9 x 1.4
ISBN: 0330450794
EAN: 9780330450799
Publication Date: May 18, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New Book - In Stock - UK Seller - Very Fast Delivery - First Class Customer Service
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| Customer Reviews:
 Tudor Thriller August 30, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is not as dry as it sounds in the product description! You'd have to be a pretty bad writer to make anything to do with Henry VIII boring but this book adds a new twist.
Our "hero", Matthew Shardlake, is a hunchback lawyer that works for Cromwell around the time that Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, died in childbirth. But Henry's problems are merely a background, the novel is concerned with the murder of one of Cromwell's officers in a monastery which Shardlake is sent to investigate. The description of life in the monastery and the life of the lay people that live in the nearby village is fascinating and just as interesting as the mystery itself. The characters are developed with the story and there's even a little romance.
This book is perfect for anyone remotely interested in this period in history. I shall be buying the second novel and look forward to learning more about Mr Shardlake.
 Don't judge a book by its cover - Sadly disappointed August 19, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was really looking forward to this book being a lover of Crime/Thirllers and Tudor history. I thought this would be right up my street and it seemed to be getting lots of good reviews on Amazon. Story surrounds Shardlake - lawyer and officer of Thomas Cromwell - who is sent to a monastery to investigate a murder. The book looked great and I began it with great excitement but I have to say I found it slow, dull, predictable and very put downable. Has some similarities to Name of the Rose in atmosphere (but obviously not as good) but I won't be reading any more of his.
 Fantastic historical crime novel - totally unmissable August 9, 2008
The weaving of historical detail into a complex storyline is masterful and I found this novel totally compelling. Sansom is expert at evoking the sounds and smells of London in the 1500s, and developing his characters as the story progresses. His use of language is rich and expressive, in some ways reminiscent of Hardy and Dickens, but with great pace and clever crime thriller plot. What really impressed me was the way that the reader's sympathy for the characters portrayed - including Shardlake - wavers and changes through the story, making them much more convincing. I read this straight through, then rushed off to buy Dark Fire.
Sadly disappointing July 16, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was beginning to think I was the only person who found this book to be disappointing, after reading all the 5-star reviews on Amazon, and my family telling me I had to read it as it was 'wonderful, terrific' etc. I'm afraid I was disappointed. Firstly, I could not sympathise with ANY of the characters, especially Shardlake. I was disappointed that almost the whole story takes place within the monastery walls, which made me feel quite claustraphobic, longing to get out and see a bit more of the life and politics of the time! Although it seems historically sound and I enjoyed the little gems of information about the reformation and dissolution of the monasteries, and of life in those times, the plot just didn't grab me at all. It just seemed to be a series of one murder after another, happening to people I hadn't been able to symapthise with or identify with hardly at all. By the end I was just skipping whole paragraphs to get to the end and really couldn't have cared less 'whodunnit'. I can't understand how people have given it 5 stars! Uberto Eco's Name of the Rose is far superior...and maybe spoiled me?
Brilliant book June 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There aren't many books that can hold my attention but this one did. I saw an advertisment for C.J Sansom's book entitled, "Revelation" when I was on a trip to London recently and remarked I fancied reading it to which my mum replied that she already had 3 C.J Sansom books. I started with this, "Dissolution". I was hooked from the start. I really did not want it to end. It's a really enjoyable read and I'm onto my next one now. Apparently there are 4 in the Shardlake series so I've got some reading ahead of me! If you have an interest in history, then this is a really impressive read.
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