Reviews

Sovereign by C.J. Sansom

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caitibeth's review against another edition

4.0

I continue to very much enjoy this series. This book is a touch over-long, which makes some parts feel needlessly drawn out or repetitive, but apart from that it's a great read.

Personally my enjoyment of this particular book in the series was slightly lessened because I knew all the history. The complicated drama and endless twists to chase down and discover the meaning of the mysterious papers lost a little of their urgency and tension when I knew exactly what they must be. But even a bit blunted, the book was still a lot of fun.

One note: the discussion of torture and the torture scene itself may turn many readers' stomachs. Skimming that section will lose no important info.

elaine1's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

freyajhugroo's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

One utterly decent man navigates through the perils of tudor society. I love the character of shardlake but I tend to hate 80% of what happens to him. I love that these books consider history from different perspectives to usual. Shardlake has a visible disability that outcasts him from many people he meets. One of his close friends is of morrocan descent and from granada and so is met by suspicion and racism in London. (Sidenote: not enough Guy in this book!). I adore this series but knocked a star off for shardlakes insistence on taking risks when he knew people were trying to kill him.

jacquilogan's review against another edition

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5.0

Sovereign by C.J. Sansom audiobook narrated by Steven Crossley. Published by Pan Macmillion Published Ltd. Listened to using Audible 5 stars.
This is the 3rd title in this series of titles about the Tudor lawyer Mathew Shardlake. I loved and enjoyed this one as much as I have the others, the narrator is fantastic and clear and able to add tone and inflections for other characters.
In this title Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak have taken a special mission from Archbishop Cranmer to ensure the welfare of a high-profile conspirator being held in York before travelling to London for interrogation.
The King Henry 8th is on a Royal Progress to York with his current Queen Catherine Howard. Shardlake along with his mission from the Archbishop is to prepare documents for petitions to go before the King.
Shardlake becomes embroiled with the murder of a local glazier, and this leads to mysteries and conspiracies that link to the prisoner and with the Royal family itself. When Shardlake and Barka stumble across some a cache of secret papers that threaten the Tudor throne it sets in motion a chain of events and attempts on his life that they couldn’t have imagined.
A fantastic series of books I would totally recommend

sams84's review

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5.0

Started this right after finishing Dark Fire and yet again Sansom did not disappoint. This book takes place only one year after the second book and sees Shardlake being sent to York to meet up with the King's Progress and be part of the legal team addressing the many issues that have arisen in the North. In doing so he is also tasked with looking after the welfare of a prisoner who is due to be sent to the Tower for questioning on the conspiracy against the King of that spring as well as having to deal with his father's death and getting embroiled in the death of a glazier, complete with many twists and turns in a conspiracy that reachese far into the Royal household.

All of this is set against the backdrop of Henry's fifth marriage to the young Catherine Howard and some backpeddling in religious reforms that follows the Howards rise to power, the sense of confusion and conspiracy is rife throughout the book adding to the mystery and ultimate surprise at the identity of those involved. For those who know their history the end for some of the characters is none too surprising but the finale of the main story is tense, shocking and absolutely gob-smacking (my jaw hit the floor when I read it). Once again a very, very good fast paced read that shows Sansom talent for weaving a damn good story with historical fact.

pireader973's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

An interesting mystery set amongst the backdrop of Queen Catherine Howard's final months. Well researched as always, although the mystery is slow to unfold and somewhat obvious. The only reason it seems obvious though is that the clues are effectly laid out and character motivations are always clear, which is definitely preferable to a mystery with tons of twists that aren't earned. Not my favorite of the Shardlake series so far, but it's also hard to go wrong with any of these books.

Outside of solving the mystery, Shardlake faces some of his more interesting personal trials, and I really enjoyed his arc in this book. Only complaint is that Barak is, for narritive reasons, frequently sidelined in this story and is not given anything to do. Tamisen is a fantastic addition though, give me more of her.

Content Warnings