“Never in England were there so many gentlemen and so little gentleness.”

 In 1549, after the young King Edward inherited his father Henry VIII's throne, there was an uprising against Edward's guardian, the Lord Protector Somerset. The rebellion was led by two brothers from Norfolk named Kett, and the story focuses on the city of Norwich, which was the second-largest city in England at that time.

In all of Sansom's Tudor novels, the story revolves around the hunchback lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, and his sidekick, Jack Barak. They are sent by Edward's older step-sister, Lady Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I), to investigate a gruesome murder near Norwich at the time of Kett's Rebellion.

Shardlake's character continues to evolve and the plot is truly excellent. It's a gripping story filled with outstanding historical insights and detail.