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reviewed Dark fire by C. J. Sansom (Matthew Shardlake, #2)

C. J. Sansom: Dark fire (2007, Macmillan) 4 stars

It is 1540 and the hottest summer of the sixteenth cantury. Matthew Shardlake, believing himself …

Shardlake just isn't going to happen

3 stars

Matthew Shardlake, a barrister during Henry VIII's reign, keeps being charged with solving mysteries. In theory, I should adore Sansom’s Matthew Shardlake series, but I just don’t. The history is impeccable as is the ability of Sansom to evoke the Tudor period but the mysteries don't interest me, their solutions are unsatisfying, and the characters seem flat. Matthew should fascinate me, yet I remain indifferent. In conclusion, this series is not for me and I’ll stop trying to make Shardlake happen.