Listen free for 30 days
Sovereign
Summary
The third novel in the compelling Shardlake series. Autumn, 1541. King Henry VIII has set out on a spectacular Progress to the North to attend an extravagant submission of his rebellious subjects in York. Already in the city are lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak. As well as assisting with legal work processing petitions to the King, Shardlake has reluctantly undertaken a special mission - to ensure the welfare of an important but dangerous conspirator being returned to London for interrogation.
But the murder of a local glazier involves Shardlake in deeper mysteries, connected not only to the prisoner in York Castle but to the royal family itself. And when Shardlake and Barak stumble upon a cache of secret papers which could threaten the Tudor throne, a chain of events unfolds that will lead Shardlake facing the most terrifying fate of the age . . .
More from the same
Author
What listeners say about Sovereign
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ren
- 29-01-16
Jesu this is good!
Can't recommend this brilliant third installment enough. The plot, characters and narration are quite superb. The interweaving of a thriller - mystery with historical events is incredibly rewarding. I can't get enough Shardlake. Thank you, Mr Sansom!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ian C Dando
- 18-04-15
Absolutely superb!
Book 3 of the Shardlake chronicles, and in my opinion the best so far. Fantastic plots and sub plots intermingled with historical accuracies takes the listener on a fascinating and truly gripping adventure. Great narration only adds to the enjoyment. Bring on book 4.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Simon Elford
- 02-01-17
Complicated and predictable but still enjoyable
The setting for this mystery is a change from the previous novels, with the narrative shifting from one place to another. As such, the tale became monotonous in places as there was little development in the mystery. However, both characters Shardlake and Barrack had much more development to their characters and leaves the reader / listener considering the moral dilemmas they both face along the way.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 08-06-17
Fantastic
Loved this book from start to finish! Fantastic narration and unexpected twists at every turn.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Sophie C Butcher
- 07-01-15
More meandering story than the first two
If you could sum up Sovereign in three words, what would they be?
Enjoyable but the story is the setting rather than the mystery for me on this one. It lacks the bite of his first two in the series, which seemed to have more of a purpose. I like this period of history and I suspect CJ has done his research well, so he colours an aspect I don't get from history books.
Any additional comments?
If you can contact the writer, please tell him to stop using the words 'interrogatively' and 'sardonically'. He overuses these and several other words, and I now wince every time I hear them.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- pchwillis
- 29-06-20
Worthwhile reading
Thoroughly enjoying this series of books. Great reading and I can't put them down.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ingrid
- 28-05-20
Great listen!
loved this book, sad its finished! I felt connected to the main characters in the story right throughout.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 25-05-20
Tudor Sherlock Holmes - totally awesome
Details of the Tudor way of life, the court & Henry VIII, a great book
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- S. Ainsworth
- 06-05-20
Great story
Fabulous descriptions of the court and intrigues of Henry the Eighth, and a great story
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Linda Saxton
- 23-04-20
A thoroughly enjoyable read
This 3rd book offers an insight into the Tudor North for a change, as usual, well researched and not 'sugary' as many historical fiction stories are