Heartstone (Matthew Shardlake 5)

Product Information

In the other case, I felt strongly that the crime could not have been successfully pulled off, nor did I believe the motivations of the person responsible. Huge consignments of men, arms and supplies are choking the roads leading to Portsmouth, where the English fleet is assembling. Shardlake is prepared for this, as it will give him the chance to learn more about Ellen’s circumstances as well.

The Shardlake books are now my favorite historical mystery series and Sansom’s name is generally one of the first on my lips when friends ask for book recommendations. Shardlake is resolute in his determination to uncover the mysteries of what happened to Ellen and to the Curteys children. Asked to investigate claims of "monstrous wrongs" committed against a young ward of the court, which have already involved one mysterious death, Shardlake and his assistant, Barak, journey to Portsmouth. As someone who is not that well versed in British History, these books make particularly fascinating reading, with C. Too much description of costume, of weaponry, and mind-numbing detail of Portsmouth in preparation for battle, and of the Mary Rose itself.To say any more would reveal little snippets of clues but as always I find myself saying after I read the next episode of Shardlake. Elizabeth Tudor, the intellectual daughter of the king who has a similar temper to that of her father, but has a longing to help the Boleyn family in honor of her mother. The twist, when it comes, after what is an age and then some, is good and the story then shifts into at least a moderate gear.

I only kept going after seeing that Goodreaders had granted this book the highest rating of all Shardlake novels. It’s an arduous, miserable journey, cold, wet, muddy, and the roads are full of soldiers and goods headed for Portsmouth to fend off the anticipated French invasion. Out at sea the ships stood waiting, great streamers in Tudor green and white, perhaps eighty feet long, fluttering gently from the topmasts. With such a remarkable cast of characters, Sansom had to put them through extremely difficult obstacles to test their limits and to give his readers a breathtaking look into the Tudor world. Of course, Shardlake never makes anything easy for himself and he takes another case of Ellen Fettiplace, a woman he met while at Bedlam.Henry VIII’s invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel. His actions and the actions of others involved in both cases lead to Shardlake and Barak becoming mixed in the middle of the battle between the French and the English. On the march there had been a constant sound of birds flapping away at our approach, but the butterflies ignored us as we passed, many of the men turning to watch them.

Although, as mentioned earlier, the first part of the novel ( at least the first 100 pages, if not more) is far too slow-paced, the rest of the novel is an absolutely gripping, suspenseful and expertly-paced detective thriller story. For all ebook purchases, you will be prompted to create an account or login with your existing HarperCollins username and password. If I did have a concern about this novel, I would say that the pacing in the middle was a bit slower than what I was anticipating. On and on it goes; well established characters like Barak and Guy develop not at all, even Shardlake was more interesting as a crabby, short-tempered at times unpleasant lead.

Heartstone, as bristling as its predecessors with outlandish deaths, suspicious behaviour, jeopardy and plots of fiendish deviousness, plunges you into catastrophic upheavals caused by Henry's foreign policy.

This book is a prime example of how important character development is even in plot-heavy mystery novels. First Edition, Sixth Printing Near Fine condition in Very Good condition Dust Jacket - Top of spine of DJ is torn No clippings and or inscriptions Some light spotting around page edge block.You feel like you are friends with the protagonist and his pals and you despise the nefarious villains that try to thwart the efforts of the heroes. For prequels, I was thinking that Sansom could either follow the adventures of Jack Barak working for Cromwell or Guy Malton as he learns how to be Moorish and a monk. They say a Rider in possession of a good blade must be in want of a monster to slay—and Merybourne Manor has plenty of monsters.