Another great fun read - Rated 
Another Matthew Shardlake novel this time set in 1543. The times are turbulent. Catherine Howard has been executed and Henry VIII is turning away from radical Protestantism but still wants no links with Rome. Different religious factions vie for supremacy and few people can feel completely safe. Although the bible is now translated into English laws are being passed to prevent women and the lower classes from reading it. Into this heady mix comes a serial killer who seems to be selecting his victims among people who have rejected radical Protestantism and killing them in accordance with the atrocities listed in Revelations. Believing there could be a link to Catherine Parr (who Henry is hoping to marry) Archbishop Cranmer enlists Matthew Shardlake to help find the killer without letting the general public (or the king) know what is afoot.
This book is the usual great fun read that we have come to expect from the series. The characters from the earlier books (Jack Barak, Guy Malton and Bealnap) continue to be well developed. Matthew is a wonderful central character - thoughtful, wise and generous of spirit. The religious and political problems of the times are described in a way that doesn't disrupt the flow of the narrative.
At the end everything is resolved. Catherine Parr marries Henry and seems to have a calming influence on him. Cranmer feels he is once again secure in his situation. But, of course, we know what happens to him when Mary comes to the throne......
Dreary dreary woe woe - Rated 
While agreeing with all the three-star reviewers, I am afraid that I can't even rate Revelation as high as three stars. Like Zola fan "Nana" I stopped reading half-way through but returned a few days later in hopes that the action would pick up at the end. Shardlake has always had rousing climaxes. But no, the book just ground on and on through one red herring after another and finally here he is again with yet another broken heart. But lo! we are all set up for the next installment--the Catholic plot to destroy Queen Katherine Parr. (Why, by the way does Shardlake continually refer to her as Katherine Parr when at this point in her life she was still Lady Latimer? Ho hum, yet another clumsy anachronism that the editor let fly by.) Sansom started out his series with what looked to be a serious attempt to create a real, conflicted character living in a fascinating time period, following a well-thought-out trajectory. Now he has just become another book-a-year historical mysteries hack. What a waste.
An excellent Historical Novel - highly recommended - Rated 
I am often wary of Historical Novels as few modern novellists either really understand or have empathy with the past or how very differently people lived, thought, believed, spoke etc. (Remember LP Hartley - the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there ..?)
However, I am assured by other reviewers that CJ Sansom is an Historian, and it shows. Despite that the book is never wordy, dull or burdened with unnecessarily clunky historical details. It fairly races along and is extremely gripping.
I found the characters interesting, authentic and perhaps just a shade too 'politically correct' sometimes, but mostly their attitudes, words and actions seem to me to be a very accurate reflection of what life might well have been like at that time.
One character did address another as 'matey', which I would be very interested to see anywhere else in Tudor literature and there is occasional use of the 'f' word, which again, I do not know whether it was in current useage at the time.
I haven't read any of the other Shardlake series, but I certainly will do now. Very impressive writing. The author also avoids the trap of writing in a very stilted 'olde worlde' way, which guarantees a hit with me.
BTW for another excellent author who really immerses herself in the period she's writing about, try Dorothy Dunnett.
Revelation - not as good as the previous three. - Rated 
Having read the previous three books in the Shardlake series I couldn't wait to get my hands on Revelation but I was disappointed at how slow the action was. It doesn't have the charm and tempo of the previous novels and the characters are not fully rounded. I actually left off half-way through the book and read another one before going back to Revelation and this would never have happened with any of the previous three in the series. I was so looking forward to reading another brilliant Shardlake book but this was a big let down for me. I feel that C J Sansom is just flogging a half-dead horse with this one. And one final comment, if old Master Shardlake is so perceptive and caring, why hadn't he done something sooner to alleviate the grim living conditions of Barak and his wife or hired some cheap labour to help his poor, old housekeeper? Moan over.
Brilliant, clever crime drama. - Rated
CJ Sansom's series of books set in reformation England capture the mood, fears, sights, smells and society of the time wonderfully. Without devoting pages and pages to descriptions the reader is fully immersed in the world of main character Shardlake. The story itself is subtle, dramatic and intelligent. Reminiscent of Morse stories or those by PD James. I'd recommend this to anyone who is a fan of well written, intelligent crime dramas whether they're a fan of history or not.
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