''Tombland'' is a historical mystery novel by British author

C. J. Sansom Christopher John Sansom (born 1952) is a British writer of Historical mystery, historical crime novels, best known for his Shardlake series, Matthew Shardlake series. He was born in Edinburgh and attended George Watson's College in that city, b ...

. It is the seventh book in the Matthew Shardlake series, following 2014's '' Lamentation''. Set in the summer of 1549, the story deals with the investigation of a murder in Norfolk. Matthew Shardlake is entrusted by Princess Elizabeth, later Elizabeth I, to investigate the murder of the wife of a distant relative of hers. During the course of the investigation Shardlake gets involved in Kett's Rebellion. The title comes from the Tombland area of Norwich which is just situated outside Norwich Cathedral. Tombland's etymolgoy is Danish in origin meaning 'empty space' or 'open land', and in the 11th century the area was home to an Anglo-Scandinavian marketplace.

Reception

Critical reception for ''Tombland'' has been positive. Stephanie Merritt writing for '' The Guardian'' commented that the novel is 'more of a grand historical epic than a tightly packed whodunnit.' In a similar vein Andrew Taylor writing for '' The Spectator'' praised the book as 'a Tudor epic disguised as an historical crime novel.'

References

{{CJ Sansom Novels 2018 British novels British crime novels Novels by C. J. Sansom Novels set in the 1540s British historical novels Novels set in Norfolk Macmillan Publishers books Fiction set in 1549