"The tale is enthralling.... Sansom describes 16th-century events in the crisply realistic style of someone watching them transpire right outside his window.... Don't believe those tapestries of pretty lords and ladies happily hunting unicorns: The Middle Ages were murder." (Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review)

"Longtime readers of this superb series will know what to expect on every level: sharply drawn characters, particularly Shardlake himself, who has grown into one of the most well-textured leading characters in the entire genre.... Tombland is the latest in what is easily one of the best ongoing mystery series currently being published." (Christian Science Monitor)

"Gripping and engrossing.... The audio book, read by Steven Crossley, interprets Sansom's prose well. The narrative sections are low key, allowing Shardlake's voice to carry the story. In the dialogue, Crossley interprets the voices of the characters: Richard Rich speaks with a high-pitched sneer, William Cecil has low, modulated tones. Regional accents are realistically reproduced for people of different areas, for the gentry, the merchant classes the yeomen and the servant classes.... The pageantry is rich, the murder is macabre, the deaths portrayed are often brutal and violent." (Strand magazine)