Heartstone
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By C. J. Sansom
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1 review
It’s Summer, 1545. England is at war. Henry VIII’s invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel… Meanwhile, Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr.
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This is such an excellent historical crime fiction novel it deserves nothing less than 5-Stars. At 700+ pages it’s long, but it’s so gripping it’s difficult to put down. It’s the fifth in a series of 7 equally absorbing novels, set in the reign of Henry VIII, where the main character is the sleuth, Matthew Shardlake. He’s an intelligent, humane and obstinate hunchbacked lawyer with a cavalier assistant, Barak. This story involves adventures in Tudor London and Portsmouth, ending with the Battle of the Solent in July 1545 and the sinking of the Mary Rose. It has a very atmospheric background to the story of the living conditions, the sounds and smells of the time, as well as the religious context, and the characters are brilliantly well-drawn. For anyone who has visited the Mary Rose in Portsmouth it will be particularly meaningful. You could read it as a one-off but once you’re into the series, reading the others will be irresistible.
Review by: Juno
