The second Shardlake novel in C. J. Sansom's remarkable historical crime series.

'C. J. Sansom’s books are arguably the best Tudor novels going' – The Sunday Times

Winner of the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, Dark Fire is the second thrilling book in C. J. Sansom's number one bestselling Shardlake series, perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory.

England, 1540. Out of favour with Thomas Cromwell, Matthew Shardlake is intent on keeping a low profile in the courts. But his involvement with a murder case, defending a girl accused of brutally killing her young cousin, brings him once again into contact with the King’s chief minister – and a new assignment.

The secret of Greek Fire, the legendary substance with which the Byzantines destroyed the Arab navies, has been lost for centuries. Now an official of the Court of Augmentations has discovered the formula in the library of a dissolved monastery. When Shardlake is sent to recover it, he finds the official and his alchemist brother brutally murdered – the formula gone.

Now Shardlake must follow the trail of Greek Fire across Tudor London, while still trying to prove his young client’s innocence. But very soon he discovers nothing is as it seems . . .

This is the second novel in C. J. Sansom's gripping historical series. It is followed by Sovereign, the third book in the series.

"Historical crime fiction is sometimes little more than a modern adventure in fancy dress. Not so the novels of C. J. Sansom, whose magnificent books set in the reign of Henry VIII bring to life the sounds and smells of Tudor England . . . Dark Fire is a creation of real brilliance" - Sunday Times

"Sansom gives us a broad view of politics – Tudor housing to rival Rachman, Dickensian prisons, a sewage-glutted Thames, beggars in gutters, conspiracies at court and a political system predicated on birth not merit, intrigue not intelligence . . . Like many before him, he offers an enjoyable history; but this is also an ethically informed one . . . A strong and intelligent novel" - Guardian

"Spellbinding . . . Sansom’s vivid portrayal of squalid, stinking, bustling London; the city’s wealth and poverty; the brutality and righteousness of religious persecution; and the complexities of English law make this a suspenseful, colourful and compelling tale" - Publishers Weekly

"Dark Fire is wonderful stuff, featuring a sort of Tudor Rebus who moves through the religious and political chaos of the 1540s with sinister élan" - The Herald