Here is the sixth and second-to-last book in C. J. Sansom’s Shardlake mystery series. Although this novel is starting to show some weakness, as one would likely expect when a series has gone well past the typical trilogy, I found Lamentation to be just as enjoyable as the previous books. With Master Shardlake once again thrown into the political blender, he must take on a task so secretive that he insists on working alone to solve it, lest others close to him get mixed up in it as well. Of course, veteran readers of this series will know how well that plan will go, and so once again Shardlake, Barak, and a young apprentice set off to solve a mystery for the queen during yet another year of political and religious upheaval.

Lamentation is one of the few times in this series where I actually feel sorry for Master Shardlake. It hasn’t even been more than a year or two since his near-death experience in Heartstone, and he’s thrust yet again into solving a dangerous mystery for the queen, Catherine Parr. It’s an honor to be called into service on behalf of the royal palace, but Shardlake has done more than his share to help the queen in the past. His continued infatuation with the queen prevents him from denying her request, and so one dangerous event leads to another. Yet this time around, Matthew Shardlake’s quest to help literally save the queen will dramatically alter everything and everyone around him in the end, and not for the better.

Here is where readers, I think, can really fault Shardlake’s character. Maybe not for the first time, but from what I can remember, I haven’t really disliked his actions and character before. In Lamentation, though, Shardlake’s persistent drive to solve the case puts nearly all of his friends in danger. On one hand, this is the Shardlake we know and love: he is good at solving mysteries while continually having to navigate the political courts throughout the process. There were obviously dangers he and his friends had to face in previous novels, but Lamentation finally dishes out consequences for his friends that he will likely never forget.

In a way, this is a good thing for the series. It’s inevitable that Shardlake couldn’t continue to escape from these situations time and again without everlasting damage not just to himself but to those closest to him as well. Lamentation is a good mystery but one that ended with a thud. For such a long story, and for all the efforts that Shardlake and his friends have put into it, I expected something a bit more clever. The reveal works, but it wasn’t satisfying. With one more book to go, I can’t wait to see how everything concludes. I can be sure to expect more religious and political turmoil as Shardlake goes on to face his final quest.