Heartstone
Murder Mystery and Tudor History in This Atmospheric Historical Fiction Novel
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- 5,99 €
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- 5,99 €
Publisher Description
'C. J. Sansom’s books are arguably the best Tudor novels going' – The Sunday Times
Heartstone is the fifth spellbinding mystery in C. J. Sansom’s number one bestselling Shardlake series, perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory.
England, 1545. England is at war. Henry VIII’s invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel.
Meanwhile, Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr. Asked to investigate claims of ‘monstrous wrongs’ committed against a young ward of the court, Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak journey to Portsmouth. There, Shardlake also intends to investigate the mysterious past of Ellen Fettiplace, a young woman incarcerated in the Bedlam.
Once in Portsmouth, Shardlake and Barak find themselves in a city preparing for war. The mysteries surrounding the two cases involve Shardlake in reunions both with an old friend and an old enemy close to the throne. And soon, events will converge on board one of the King’s great warships gathered in Portsmouth harbour, waiting to confront the approaching French fleet . . .
Heartstone is the fifth novel in C. J. Sansom's gripping historical series. It is followed by the sixth book in the series, Lamentation.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Few contemporary authors are as adept as Sansom at blending a whodunit with a sweeping historical epic, as shown by his fifth mystery featuring English attorney Matthew Shardlake (after 2009's Revelation). In 1545, as a French fleet threatens invasion, the English queen, Catherine Parr, asks Shardlake to look into a matter for an old servant, whose son committed suicide shortly after filing a protest about the wardship of a boy the son had tutored. Soon after accepting this assignment, Shardlake is assaulted by a gang of thugs, who warn him to drop the matter. On his own, he also probes the past of a Bedlam inmate, Ellen Fettiplace, who was institutionalized 20 years earlier after being raped. Both cases turn out to be extremely complex, and Shardlake, who puts justice above his personal interests, ends up with several murders to solve as well. Strong prose makes Tudor England instantly accessible, and the clockwork plotting sustains deep interest throughout.
