Here in the fourth book of the series, I find myself continuing to enjoy the Matthew Shardlake series. With Revelation, author CJ Sansom has crafted another historical fiction mystery novel that kept me reading nonstop. And yes, there was a lot of reading to be done, with the book clocking in at almost 600 pages. As with other novels set in historical London of the mid-16th century, religion plays a central theme, and with a murderer on the loose, Matthew Shardlake and crew are puzzled as to what could motivate someone to perform such heinous acts of crime along with their cruel display for all to see.

I think what continuously draws me back to this series is how calm, collected and rational Matthew Shardlake is able to go about solving different mysteries. His wits and keen sense of perception with speaking to others, during interregations and just about everything else is very relaxing to read, if that makes sense. At this point, I know what I’m getting with Matthew and while he may not be the most adventuruous male protagonist in historical fiction history, I think most readers that appreciate this series will likely agree with me to some degree.

While I had a blast with the novel, I wasn’t too happy with the end reveal. Introducing a serial type of murderer in the 16th century is a new concept that many people in that era have no idea how to explain other than to blame it on devilish possession. In a time when a person’s madness of the mind can’t be explained, it’s also not a surprise that the citizens were introduced to the Bedlam. Matthew and Barak’s constant running around between locations only to find themselves one step behind the murderer can seem repetitive at times, but things do progress, albeit very slowly at times.

Like the other novels in the series, there are other side stories and distractions that Matthew has to work on in addition to the main quest. I think more time spent on the murderer towards the end would have been warranted. Because the entire novel is based on Matthew’s POV and no one else’s, I thought such a complicated serial murderer, which is one of the first encounters of his career, would get more time to explain how each of his encounters with his victims went before he did the deed. Maybe help Matthew try and understand and process the mind of this serial killer. However, it was a very short encounter between the two at the very end, and I thought this section could have improved.