[1] A television series, Shardlake, starring Arthur Hughes in the title role, was released on Disney+ in 2024.

Set in 1537 during the dissolution of the monasteries, the book follows the lawyer Shardlake in his attempts to solve the murder of one of Thomas Cromwell's commissioners in the monastery at the fictional town of Scarnsea on the south coast of England.

[2] "The best crime novel I have read this year" – Colin Dexter;[3] "Remarkable...the sights, the voices, the very smell of this turbulent age seem to rise from the page" – P. D. James;[4] "This is a humdinger of a whodunnit.

[5] The US Library Journal review is more critical, commenting: "His novel is unrelentingly grim in tone, as the reader is forced to plod along with Shardlake and the other mostly unlikable characters.

It was also nominated for the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger in the same year.