Dissolution, C.J. Sansom. 2003. This is the first of a series set in Tudor England. HenryVIII has declared himself head of the Church in England. Thomas Cromwell has been charged with closing the monasteries and claiming their wealth for the crown. Matthew Shardlake, a hunchbacked lawyer and a supporter of the “new religion” is sent a monastery to investigate the murder of one of Crowell’s commissioners. Neither the Catholics nor the Protestants shine in this mystery, but if you enjoy reading about Tudor history, this may turn out to be a good series. ( )

Set in the reign of Henry VIII. Vivid portrayal of squalid, stinking, bustling London, the city's wealth and poverty; the brutality and righteous persecution; and the complexities of English law. Murder mystery set in the confines of St Donatus monastery, Kent. Gripping and exciting.

With my three star rating, I would have abandoned this book much earlier. But my husband said it was worth reading, so I had to see how it resolved. I won't be reading the sequels... ( )

This has been in my tbr pile for a bit. I moved it to the top after reading Stephen's review of book 3. ( )

I've heard a lot of good things about this series, and I wasn't disappointed. Historical mysteries are especially enjoyable when the author has done his/her homework, and this is the case here :-) I liked the setting, the many details from the time period, and the mystery plot was quite good (I did guess who the murderer was before the main character did, though...).

At first I thought that the writing style was too cool and detached, but it grew on me. Also, I had read Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" a few months ago, so reading this book meant entering a familiar universe. I liked that!
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

P.S. My book reader's heart melted when the monastery's library turned out to have a copy of Aristotle's "On Comedy" - "a fake, of course" :-)))))) ( )