This is a very good historical mystery. No need to recount the plot. One often wonders, however, just what the relationship is between reality and author's license in historical fiction. And it's the little details about life during the period that make these kinds of novels intriguing for me. For example, "The salt cellar, a foot high and particularly ornate, was set at the very top of the table, opposite a high chair thick with cushions. That meant nearly all the guests would be below the salt and therefore that a guest of the highest status was expected." Now that's an intriguing little piece of cultural history. Or that the wives would wear "heavy layers of lead rouge" I love those little kinds of details in historical novels. It's what makes them spring to life for me, aside from the story. Fortunately, Sansom (a pseudonym?) has a good reputation for historical accuracy.
