Dissolution : A Darkly Atmospheric Murder Mystery from the Bestselling Historical Series

Now a major Disney+ original series, Shardlake – also airing on ITV.

'A fiendish puzzle and a slice of gritty historical fiction, with a brilliantly unconventional detective at its heart' – Richard Osman, bestselling author of We Solve Murders

Dissolution is the first novel in C. J. Sansom’s phenomenally bestselling Shardlake series. After one of Cromwell's commissioners is brutally murdered, Matthew Shardlake is drawn into an investigation that becomes darker than he could have ever imagined . . .

England, 1537. It is a time of revolution that sees the greatest changes in England since 1066. Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church. The country is waking up to savage new laws, rigged trials and the greatest network of informers it has ever seen. And under the orders of Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners is sent throughout the country to investigate the monasteries. There can only be one outcome: dissolution.

But on the Sussex coast, at the monastery of Scarnsea, events have spiralled out of control. Cromwell's commissioner, Robin Singleton, has been found dead, his head severed from his body. His horrific murder accompanied by equally sinister acts of sacrilege.

Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and long-time supporter of Reform, has been sent by Cromwell to uncover the truth behind the dark happenings at Scarnsea. But Shardlake's investigation soon forces him to question everything that he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes . . .

Follow Shardlake into the dark heart of Tudor England with the next book in the series, Dark Fire.

Praise for the series:

'A remarkable, imaginative feat' – Mail on Sunday

'His narrative’s tingling intrigues will have you hooked from first page to last' – Sunday Times

'The perfect mixture of novelistic passion and historical detail' – Antonia Fraser, Sunday Telegraph

'Extraordinarily impressive' – Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse series

'An utterly convincing world' – Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl

'Utterly gripping' – Marian Keyes, author of Rachel's Holiday