Dark Fire
A Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery
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4.3 • 157 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
The second novel in the Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery series—soon to be an original streaming series!
In 1540, during the reign of Henry VIII, Shardlake is asked to help a young girl accused of murder. She refuses to speak in her defense even when threatened with torture. But just when the case seems lost, Thomas Cromwell, the king’s feared vicar general, offers Shardlake two more weeks to prove his client’s innocence. In exchange, Shardlake must find a lost cache of "Dark Fire," a legendary weapon of mass destruction. What ensues is a page-turning adventure, filled with period detail and history.
"Atmospheric and engaging" (Margaret George), this second book in Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery series delves again into the dark and superstitious world of Cromwell's England introduced in Dissolution.
Awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger – the highest honor in British crime writing
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Matthew Shardlake, the marvelous hunchbacked 16th-century attorney who first appeared in Sansom's Dissolution, returns in this spellbinding Tudor-era tale of murder, conspiracy and betrayal. Shardlake normally handles property cases and the occasional dangerous mission for Lord Thomas Cromwell, the king's high counselor. Now he is engaged to defend a young woman accused of a curious murder, and the case seems hopeless. The girl refuses to speak and, under English law, unless she offers a plea in court she will be slowly crushed to death. Cromwell offers Shardlake a two-week stay of execution if he will agree to undertake a secret mission. Desperate to save the girl's life, Shardlake agrees. Rumors abound of a new and terrifying weapon called Greek Fire, and Cromwell orders Shardlake to find it, along with its secret formula and the two alchemists who possess it. Before Shardlake can even speak to the alchemists, they are brutally murdered, the formula and Greek Fire go missing, and horror and death are unleashed. Fortunately, Shardlake is aided by Jack Barak, a capable rogue working for Cromwell, and his old friend, Guy Malton, a peculiar apothecary. Sansom's vivid portrayal of squalid, stinking, bustling London; the city's wealth and poverty; the brutality and righteousness of religious persecution; and the complexities of English law make this a suspenseful, colorful and compelling tale.
Customer Reviews
Dark Fire
I have enjoyed reading all do the Shardlake titles. I give the plot an A. I give the editing an F! OK, I am a retired English teacher so perhaps I am more aware of punctuation. But PLEASE. Who edited this book? I quit counting silly, careless errors after 30 in the first 10 chapters. I have never commented on a book but felt the urge when I got to chapter 14. Go ahead, look at that page. Someone is giving this series a bad name. You should be ashamed!
Great book, bad publishing
One of my favorite scenes is when Shardlake reprimands his assistant for writing a sloppy legal document. A few pages later, there's a period inserted in the middle of a sentence. Words are missing. Punctuation is crazy. Is it part of the mystery? Or did someone at Penguin not bother to copy-edit? For $12.99, I expect a little effort in this regard.