Revelation (The Shardlake series, 4) - Softcover

Sansom, C. J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1447285867 ISBN 13: 9781447285861

Publisher: Pan, 2015

Synopsis

C. J. Sansom's bestselling adventures of Matthew Shardlake continue in the fourth title of the series, the haunting Revelation.

Spring, 1543. King Henry VIII is wooing Lady Catherine Parr, whom he wants for his sixth wife. But this time the object of his affections is resisting. Archbishop Cranmer and the embattled Protestant faction at court are watching keenly, for Lady Catherine is known to have reformist sympathies.

Matthew Shardlake, meanwhile, is working on the case of a teenage boy, a religious maniac locked in the Bedlam hospital for the insane. Should he be released to his parents, when his terrifying actions could lead to him being burned as a heretic?

When an old friend is horrifically murdered Shardlake promises his widow, for whom he has long had complicated feelings, to bring the killer to justice. His search leads him to both Cranmer and Catherine Parr –and with the dark prophecies of the Book of Revelation.

As London's Bishop Bonner prepares a purge of Protestants, Shardlake, together with his assistant, Jack Barak, and his friend, Guy Malton, follows the trail of a series of horrific murders that shake them to the core, and which are already bringing frenzied talk of witchcraft and a demonic possession – for what else would the Tudor mind make of a serial killer . . .?

Continue the gripping historical series with Revelation, Heartstone, Lamentation and Tombland.

About this title

Review:

Sansom’s meticulous attention to historical detail and vivid characters make this Tudor mystery as gripping and vital as any modern thriller., The Times

A serial killer is using the Book of Revelation for his murders in this outstanding whodunit featuring the bestselling Tudor lawyer Matthew Shardlake., Sunday Times Culture - Your 100 Best Holiday Reads

Sansom’s evocation of 16th century London amidst the turmoil of the Reformation is compelling. -- Helen Zaltzman, Observer

Sansom’s deeply resonant novel depicts Tudor London as a benighted city overrun by fundamentalist fanatics, heretic-burners and the madness of crowds, while his narrative’s tingling intrigues will have you hooked from first page to last. -- Trevor Lewis, Sunday Times

Only the wonderfully rich detail with which the author brings to life characters and settings lets us know that we are not in modern times, but in 1543 – and even this evocation of a filthy overcrowded London thronged with beggars and prostitutes seems uncomfortably close to present day reality . . . Mingling lightly worn erudition with pacy plotting, this is an utterly compelling read. -- Christina Koning, The Times

Historical mysteries are all the rage, but Sansom’s are in a class of their own. His sheer narrative skill is matchless. -- Simon Shaw, Mail on Sunday

C. J. Sansom’s novels, set amid the stench and scandal of the 16th century, are impressive both for their intricate detail and serpentine plot twists., Independent Books of the Year

Terror stalks Tudor London in this latest pungently atmospheric novel from the master of the historical murder mystery., Sunday Times Culture

He has created a hugely detailed and wonderfully plausible picture of life in 16th Century London as religious schisms threaten to tear the country apart but he sweetens the pot in this tale of a Tudor serial killer by having his characters talking in modern English. A very superior entertainment., Mail on Sunday

There’s expert historical crime to be found in . . . C. J. Sansom’s Revelation, perhaps the first Tudor serial-killer mystery, which also illuminates 16th century attitudes to madness and fundamentalism., Guardian - What to pack with your beach towel

Book Description:

The fourth historical mystery in the compelling Shardlake series.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pan
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1447285867
• ISBN 13: 9781447285861
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 672