Dissolution is an utterly riveting portrayal of Tudor England. The year is 1537, and the country is divided between those faithful to the Catholic Church and those loyal to the king and the newly established Church of England. When a royal commissioner is brutally murdered in a monastery on the south coast of England, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s feared vicar general, summons fellow reformer Matthew Shardlake to lead the inquiry. Shardlake and his young prot g uncover evidence of sexual misconduct, embezzlement, and treason, and when two other murders are revealed, they must move quickly to prevent the killer from striking again.

I purchased a copy of this book for my own reading.

Despite having an immense interest in studying and learning history, I’ve not been so great at reading much in the way of historical fiction. Perhaps the idea of fiction rooted in real events has put me off? When I spotted this book on a second hand stall, I thought it was time to change that.

Dissolution follows Mathew Shardlake, a man in them employ of Lord Cromwell at the time Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries of England. Following the murder of his predecessor, Shardlake is despatched to a monastery in the fictional South Coast town of Scarnsea. What he uncovers is a friction between the monks, the villagers and the overbearing power of the crown. It burries hidden pasts, burried crimes and sins and a level of corruption that even the king himself might raise an eyebrow at.

What starts out as a murder investigation quickly escalates as more bodies are uncovered, and more ill deeds to go with them. Shardlake finds himself in a race against time, cut off from London by the harsh winter snow, to uncover the perpetrator and save himself and others before things escalate.

While, at its heart, this is a murder mystery in the Tudor period, it’s so much deeper than that. Along with the web of crimes and deceit, it also sees the main character exploring his deeply held religious beliefs and how they evolve. I thoroughly enjoyed Dissolution and will be reading the rest of the Shardlake books!

My rating: