Matthew Shardlake series by CJ Sansom

[JaneFondue]

I have come to this late, but it's so incredibly good! I feel like I am back in Tudor times. My faves are Sovereign and Dark Fire.
I wish he had been able to complete the series.

Love them!

Yes, he was excellent at creating the later years of Henry VIII.

There was a definite falling off in quality in the last one, but that is understandable.

Love this series so much and was genuinely sad when Sansom died.

Dark Fire, Sovereign, and Revelation was the strongest run of the series for me. I think my fave is Sovereign. Heartstone, Lamentation and Tombland could have done with more rigorous editing (in my opinion) but I still really enjoyed them.

I really enjoyed them too but agree about the later ones. I have never managed to finish Tombland, it was so stuffed full of extraneous historical detail it completely overwhelmed the plot.

They did some radio adaptations which are worth listening out for. I enjoyed the tv adaptation too, but I think they said they weren't going to do any more

Love them too

Lamentation dragged for me but I liked Tombland, as I had no idea about that particular period of history. I have been walking around London thinking about all the layers of history that lie underneath. Such a welcome distraction from 2026.

Not seen the Disney show.

I enjoyed the Disney show. Kind of. But I had such vivid ideas of what Shardlake and Barak would be like that the TV series was never going to match the pictures in my head.

Sean Bean is what I imagined Cromwell to be like- wily and Machiavellian- but I am not sure about the other actors.

Can only agree. They’re all so brilliant and transport you straight back.

I didn’t think the tv version really did the first book justice. They’d be fabulous films but only if they were done properly. I guess we’d all have a different idea of who could play Shardlake 😄

They’re excellent books I couldn’t put any of them down and I’m not a fan of either historical dramas or crime fiction THAT’S how good they are.

Love them! And it reignited a love affair with London. We also made the trek to visit the Mary Rose on the back of Heartstone.

Love the series. I particularly liked Tombland and have been to stay at the Maid's Head in Norwich, next to the cathedral. There is a Shardlake walking tour you can go on from the hotel, visiting all the mentioned places.

Suggestions for any similar books appreciated!

BBC Sounds have great audio renditions of done of these . The Brother Cadefel series are great too .

The audio books are fantastic.