My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell: I adored reading about young Gerald, his animals and his whacky family. It´s the perfect feel good read and I consider this book to be the bookish equivalent to the movie Mamma Mia.

 

The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin: Leave it to Le Guin to tell the most tropy story in a refreshing, engaging and deeply moving way. Out of all the Le Guin´s I have read so far, this is my favorite. 

 

The Expendable Man by Dorothy Hughes: There is one specific thing about this book that turns this into an exceptional and unforgettable read. And this is all I´m going to say about this book.

 

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki: Or you could swap this book with "My Year of Meats". Both books are amazing and Ozeki is an exceptional writer.

 

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates: A gut-punch of a novel.

 

Honeysuckle Cottage by P.G. Wodehouse: The most charming and sweet haunted house (short) story ever written. 

 

Sovereign by C.J. Sansom: This stands for the whole Shardlake series, book number three has been my favorite so far, though. The mysteries are compelling, the setting of Tudor England is glorious and Shardlake is one of my favorite characters ever.

 

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane: This is so good. The setting, the atmosphere and the story are simply amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next book in the Matthew Shardlake series and this one has to be the best one so far. I simply couldn´t put this book down, so much tension was there.

I loved the historical backdrop of this novel, Shardlake and Barack being in York with the Progress and their encounter with Henry VIII. and the current queen Catherine Howard, and the way, how Sansom manages to blend fiction and historical facts together, is extraordinary. He really makes history come alive.

As for the characters ... what can I really say about them without being overly repetitive: I just love them, especially Shardlake, who has turned into my favorite fictional character throughout this book. I´m so looking forward to read more about him and I´m glad that there are three more books out there for me to read.

This is the second book of the Matthew Shardlake series and I enjoyed it as much as the first one. It´s the year 1540 and this time around Shardlake has to solve the mystery of greek fire for Cromwell, a weapon, which he desperately needs to find to bring himself back in the king´s favor. A lot is at stake and Shardlakes life is more than once in danger.

 

There is something I have to admit. I suck at reading book series. It just seems like I´m not able to get past the first few books of a series, which means that I stopped reading Harry Potter after the fourth book, Thursday Next after the second book and Pendergast after the seventh book. It seems like I´m loosing interest in the characters and their stories at one point and I certainly never felt the urge to read all the books of a series in a row.

An then there comes Master Shardlake along and after finishing a novel of this series I feel the urge to read the next one right away. And this isn´t because of the stories of the novels (admittedly the story of Dark Fire is at times too cluttered and to drawn out) and it isn´t because of the historical backdrop, that C.J. Sansom depicts so explicitly. The great strength of these novels lies in its characters. I simply adore Shardlake and his sidekick Jack Barak. These two couldn´t be more different, yet they are forming that strong bond of friendship and mutual trust and I enjoyed every minute of being with them. And I guess that is the reason why I feel the need to read the subsequent novel of the series: I just miss the characters.

Thankfully there are another four Shardlake novels that I will be able to enjoy and I´m so looking forward to it.

 

It is no secret that I adore CJ Sansom's Matthew Shardlake series. You all know it. My kids know it. I should probably start a fan club. This book is one more reason to get your hands on some Team Matthew paraphernalia.

The story in this installment of Matthew's story brings him in contact, once again, with the lovely Catherine Parr. Though he claims to desire a quiet life and toys with the idea of moving to the country, the adventures that Matthew gets himself involved in make one wonder if he does not truly thrive on it the same way that Barak does.

With twists and turns that at times left me wondering where on earth the plot was leading, this novel is centered on the fictional theft of Queen Catherine's manuscript of Lamentation of a Sinner before it was published. This brings Shardlake into a rather uncomfortable relationship with his nemesis Richard Rich (nobody who is really going to move quietly to the country has a nemesis).

Tudor England is spectacularly brought to life, as it is in each Shardlake novel, this time including the stomach turning burning of Anne Askew. While Matthew still is struggling to cope with the loss of his friends on the Mary Rose, he is forced to face challenges and mysteries unlike anything he has so far. The result leaves him on course for big changes in his life, whether he is willing or not.

I was shocked and a little sad at some of the developments that were set up for the next book, but Matthew, like all of us, is helpless to hold on to time or the people in his life indefinitely. I am excited to see where Sansom takes him next.

The first book in the Matthew Shardlake Mysteries. A historical mystery set in Tudor England shortly after the establishment of the Church of England and the beheading of Anne Boleyn by Henry VIII. Shardlake is a hunchback lawyer who works for Thomas Cromwell. He’s been charged with investigating the murder of a royal commissioner murdered in a monastery. Besides being a satisfying mystery, it met my expectations for a “historical” mystery as it is filled with rich details of the period and a compelling view of religion and politics at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries in England. Wonderfully narrated by Steven Crossley. I plan to continue with this series.