As good a new thriller as I have come across for years. The London of the 1530s smells real, the politics and the religious machinations are delicious and Sansom’s voice rings true. His troubled hero Shardlake, doing Thomas Cromwell’s dread work in the burning monasteries, is a kind of Tudor Morse and a character to treasure. Great stuff.

DISSOLUTION is not just a fascinating detective story, but a convincing portrait of a turbulent period...a thoughtful book.

Sansom paints a vivid picture of the corruption that plagued England during the reign of Henry VIII, and the wry, rueful Shardlake is a memorable protagonist . . . With this cunningly plotted and darkly atmospheric effort, Sansom proves himself to be a promising newcomer.

Terrific. Historical fiction at its finest.

...cunningly plotted, atmospheric novel...

[CJ Sansom is] an incredible talent. Not only has he produced a brilliantly plotted and atmospheric crime novel, he makes history come alive on the page. It’s a long while since I’ve been so impressed by a crime debut.

...a fascinating and frightful look back to 1537...Sansom seems to have been born with, or instinctively acquire, that precious balance of creativity and research that lets a mystery set in another time walk a delicate line between history and humanity.

Terrific atmosphere and historical accuracy is combined with a truly likable protagonist in Shardlake.