Heartstone - Matthew Shardlake, Bk 5 Author:C. J. Sansom Summer 1545. A massive French armada is threatening England, and Henry VIII has plunged the country into economic crisis to finance the war. Meanwhile, an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr has asked Matthew Shardlake to investigate claims of "monstrous" wrongs committed against a young ward of the court. As the French fleet approache... more »s, Shardlake's inquiries reunite him with an old friend -- and an old enemy close to the throne.« less
I have read all the previous Shardlake mysteries and enjoyed them. For whatever reason, this one was much longer than the others or, at least, it seemed like it. As such, it dragged a bit. It appears that Sansom tried to stuff too much into this novel and as a result the storyline suffered.
Still, when the next Shardlake mystery appears, I'll read that one too.
Bruce - reviewed Heartstone (Matthew Shardlake, Bk 5) on
I always love spending time with Matthew Shardlake and Jack Barak. As far as character series go, the Shardlake novels are in my top 3 of historical fiction series. Sansom has created a unique character set in Tudor England, a hunchbacked lawyer with a heart of gold that seems to find himself intwined in mysteries and danger in pursuit of justice for the powerless. Heartstone, published in 2010 is the latest in the series, so Mr. Sansom, we are waiting anxiously for the next installment. Hop to it!
Slow start,but it was an exciting ride to the finish!
Lots of flashbacks to the previous stories this one builds off of the prior story events to build excitement and drama, but it was these same flashbacks that may have overburdened the storyline initially.
If nothing else, Matthew Shardlake certainly led an adventuresome life during the medieval period...yes I know it's fiction ;P Nonetheless it was a fast paced fun story once you got to it, with a couple of twists that made it worthwhile!
