What we’re reading: writers and readers on the books they enjoyed in May
TV review
Shardlake review – murderous monks ignite this magnificent CJ Sansom story
April 2024
‘I know what it’s like to be stared at’: Shardlake star Arthur Hughes on playing CJ Sansom’s disabled Tudor sleuth
CJ Sansom obituary
CJ Sansom, author of the Shardlake novels, dies aged 71
The watcher
Shardlake: murder mysteries don’t get more fantastically creepy than this
July 2023
Sovereign review – CJ Sansom’s historical doorstopper comes home to York
Large-scale community play casts Henry VIII putting an end to the city’s beloved Mystery Plays as a clever framing device in Mike Kenny’s adaptation
October 2018
Tombland by CJ Sansom review – royals and revolting peasants
In Shardlake’s seventh case, the whodunnit is a pretext for an amiable historical tale of unrest in 16th-century Norfolk
August 2015
Books blog
Tips, links and suggestions: what are you reading this week?
Your space to discuss the books you are reading and what you think of them – plus our favourite literary links
June 2015
Lamentation by CJ Sansom review – a hunt for heretics in the sixth Shardlake book
As Henry VIII falls gravely ill, a bitter political power struggle unfolds
November 2014
Lamentation by CJ Sansom review – a new chapter for Shardlake
Tudor lawyer Matthew Shardlake’s sixth outing builds to a shocking climax, writes Stephanie Merritt
October 2014
Lamentation review – CJ Sansom’s new Tudor mystery
The Observer profile
CJ Sansom: a bestselling mix of Tudor history and mystery
December 2012
Dominion by CJ Sansom – review
A gripping thriller about Britain under Nazi rule impresses Mark Lawson
November 2010
A life in ...
A life in books: CJ Sansom
Sarah Crown talks to CJ Sansom, the creator of Matthew Shardlake: 'I'd always thought the dissolution of the monasteries would make a great setting for a murder mystery'
September 2010
Heartstone by CJ Sansom, Trick of the Dark by Val McDermid, River of Shadows by Valerio Varesi and Evil in Return by Elena Forbes
Laura Wilson's roundup of crime novels
April 2008
Morse in doublet and hose
CJ Sansom's Revelation is supported by the richness of its historical research, says Stephanie Merritt
November 2004
A wherry across the Thames
Stella Duffy
CJ Sansom's Dark Fire transcends the crime genre, says Stella Duffy.
