[bookshare-discuss] Historical mystery
- From: Cindy <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 20:46:06 -0800 (PST)
I came across a book today that I think might interest
those of you who like mysteries set in Medieval
England.. The title is Dissolution, and it's by a new
author, C. J. Sanson. It's on the short list for the
Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award and the John
Creasey Award for Best First Crime Novel.
It looks as if this is going to be the first of a
series of books with a protagonist who is "The
sharpest hunchback in the Courts of England." It's
set in Tudor England, 1537, and involves a couple of
murders that have to be solved before another one
happens.
I read two reviews that are on my library's online
catalog. One was positive, one somewhat negative. The
annotation is "In what's being called a brilliant
debut, Sansom presents a riveting historical novel in
which issues of politics and faith collide when a
gruesome murder is committed in a remote Benedictine
monastery during the reign of Henry VIII. "
The Library Journal review gives a more complete
summary but says "... With a Ph.D. in history and a
background in law, Sansom clearly harbors a deep
affection for and knowledge of this historical period.
However, his novel is unrelentingly grim in tone, as
the reader is forced to plod along with Shardlake and
the other mostly unlikable characters. Although the
novel can be superficially compared with the
historical mysteries of Iain Pears and Umberto Eco,
their caliber of writing is much higher than
Sansom's."
On the other hand, Publishers' Weekly says, after its
summary, "...With this cunningly plotted and darkly
atmospheric effort, Sansom proves himself to be a
promising newcomer."
The book I saw was a slim paperback published in 2005,
if I remember correctly, but it must have small print,
because the library's copy was published in 2003 and
has 390 pages.
I loved thd Cadfael and Sister Frevisse mysteries, so
this caught my attention and I added it to my list of
books to read. (I hope I live long enough to read
everything I want to, but one always finds more and
more--smile).
Cindy
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