Publisher: Pan
Pages: 706
Main Characters:
Mathew Shardlake, John
Barak, Queen Catherine Parr
Lamentation is the
long awaited sixth addition to C. J. Sansom's epic Shardlake series. The novel is set in 16th Century
England at time when the country was going through numerous religious changes
at the whim of King Henry VIII. The rich and powerful of the country are
divided into two different sects, the Conservatives and Reformers, whom both
wish to have the ear of the King and influence his religious doctrine. People
are being declared heretics by the state and the most radical reformers are
burnt at Tyburn, as the King seems to be retracing his steps to the Church of Rome.
England and especially London is not a safe place to live for anyone who
questions the Old Faith.
Trying to avoid the religious divide is lawyer Mathew
Shardlake whom after helping the Queen of England a year ago, is trying to stay
out of matters of state. However, when a knock on his door in the middle of
night reveals a young lawyer named William Cecil, Shardlake is quickly drawn
back into the intrigue of the Royal Court. Cecil takes him to Whitehall to meet
with his Master- Lord Parr. Once again, Shardlake is thrown into the cut-throat
world of the English Crown as it is revealed his old Mistress (Queen Catherine
Parr) is in mortal danger because of a book she secretly wrote.
The book is called Lamentation
of a Sinner in which the Queen confesses that she has sinned during her life but
through studying the bible and prayer to Jesus, she has repented her sins and
will try and live a virtuous life. Although the book is not technically heresy,
the fact the Queen wrote it without telling the King could easily be declared
treason and with Henry’s short temper and love of beheadings, it could end
badly for the Queen. Especially when her unpublished manuscript is stolen from
her chambers! Shardlake is tasked with finding out who stole the manuscript but
is on limited time because if the book is published by the thieves ,it will be
the end of the Queen, the reformers and Mathew Shardlake.
Once again C. J. Sansom does not fail to impress with his
new novel. It seems like forever ago that his last novel in the series Heartstone came out and I actually didn’t
realised he’d realised a new book until I bumped into this one in a book shop!
The book was extremely tense and well written. I love how Sansom portrays 16th
Century London. His research into the street layouts and how he describes them
really makes you feel you’re walking the city with Shardlake and Barak.
In addition, the novel has so many different levels of intrigue
to it. There’s the mystery behind the book theft, a murder and an old family
quarrel which Shardlake tries to solve throughout the book. Sansom builds and
builds the tension all the way through the book leading to a big reveal near
the end. But for me, the reveal was a little disappointing and kind-of average.
However, that is until you read a little further on and find out who the real
puppet master is in the novel and his confrontation with Shardlake is awesome!
This series of books is one of my favourite and is easily on
par with series like A Song of Ice and
Fire by George R. R. Martin. There’s the same level of intrigue, back
stabbing and murder which I think is great, so if you love watching and reading
A Game of Thrones then definitely check
out the first book in this series Dissolution.
For author’s website click here.
