Publisher's Synopsis
Harsh new laws, rigged trials, networks of informers, and Queen Anne Boleyn herself executed on questionable chargesthe scene is set for reform and for Cromwell supporter Matthew Shardlake to enter a hellish cauldron of personal, social, and political upheaval. As Shardlake starts to doubt Cromwell's methods for achieving reform, he is sent to investigate a monastery murder that only serves to fuel his suspicions, even as his own loyalty comes under the microscope.