Sovereign is the third instalment of the 'Shardlake' series by C.J. Sansom and it did well to live up-to the previous renditions.
Following Matthew Shardlake across the country to the city of York ahead of the King's progress after the 'Pilgrimage of Grace' in 1536-37.
Sansom cleverly creates intrigue and tension in his usual style as Matthew gets thrown into a case with direct links to the King himself. As the story develops I was constantly kept guessing as to who the culprit was and the twists and turns gave nothing away.
It's incredible how Sansom's description and vivid imagery in his books brings you right back to the Tudor period. The style and narratives that Sansom creates, provides the reader with an insight into how everyday people live in this time. What was interesting with this rendition in the Shardlake series is that the focus was on portraying the lives of lawyers and their interactions with those stationed above them.
Sansom is very clever at weaving twists and turns and generating intrigue, hence my reasoning for awarding this novel 4 out of 5 stars. Being so far from London I did feel that it was hard to include characters we previously got to know in books 1 & 2, but otherwise a great read that I would thoroughly recommend.