麻豆约拍

London, 1543: the freezing cold spring is marked by turmoil and darkness.

The city's streets are filled with preachers. Radical religion has spilled over into dangerous fundamentalism as young men are maddened by differing interpretations of the Bible. Where the monasteries once acted as gatekeepers to God, the Lord now seems to be very close at hand. Strange signs and portents are observed that suggest the end times are near.

As King Henry VIII slips back towards the old religion, the reactionaries are fighting back: radicals are being arrested, heretics threatened with burning and everyone is looking over their shoulder, including Archbishop Cranmer.

Into this unsettled landscape comes a murderer who appears to be killing for pleasure. Worse still, his first victim was someone close to Catherine Parr - the King's latest romantic obsession. Their marriage would serve the Reformist cause well and, to protect her chances of becoming Queen, Cranmer wants news of the killer kept from the superstitious King.

And so he calls upon lawyer detective Matthew Shardlake to conduct a secret investigation.

Once again, Shardlake and his loyal assistant Barak must descend into the murky depths of Tudor society to try to stop the murderer before they strike again.

CJ Sansom's Tudor crime novel - the fourth in the series - stars Justin Salinger as Shardlake.

Dramatised by Colin MacDonald.

Shardlake ..... Justin Salinger
Barak ..... Bryan Dick
Guy ..... Vincent Ebrahim
Harsnet ..... Carl Prekopp
Dorothy ..... Emily Bruni
Cantrell ..... David Seddon
Cranmer ..... Sean Baker
Lockley ..... Patrick Brennan
Adam ..... Luke MacGregor
Tamasin ..... Kirsty Oswald
Bunce ..... Clare Perkins

Other parts played by the cast.

Director: Kirsteen Cameron

First broadcast on 麻豆约拍 Radio 4 in March 2017.

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