Ana López-Salazar's book is a revised version of her PhD dissertation defended in 2008 at the Universidad Castilla–La Mancha (Spain). It is divided into five very well-defined chapters that examine in the first place the members of the most important authorities of the Portuguese Inquisition (grand inquisitors and deputies of the General Council) (chapters i, ii), then how the tribunal was governed (chapter iii), and ends with an analysis of its interaction with other institutions and with the crown itself (chapters iv, v). The author deals specifically with the Portuguese Inquisition's strategies and political goals under the Hapsburgs (1580–1640), and the conflicts and collaborations established with other institutions and corporations of the Catholic Monarchy. Methodologically, López-Salazar takes a double, yet simple perspective, making an analysis based on internal and external points of view, meaning, on the one hand, focusing on the organisational shifts of the institution and possible variations in the recruiting policy of the Inquisition's ministers, and on the other, on its relations with other tribunals, royal councils and religious corporations. The results are groundbreaking. Even if other historians have already studied the Inquisition as an institution (in contrast with the more traditional historiography, interested mainly in those persecuted by the Portuguese Holy Office), this is the first time that a such a profound social history of the highest-ranking inquisitors has been achieved, even if only for a specific period of time. Secondly, she describes thoroughly the internal functioning of the institution and the diverse royal attempts to interfere in it, showing that despite some moments of weakness, the Inquisition was able to maintain its autonomy. Finally, López-Salazar shows that the political affiliations of the inquisitorial personnel were far more varied than is commonly affirmed by traditional historiography. This means that in 1580, and also in 1640, the Inquisition did not assume a position as a whole for or against the new dynasties (first Hapsburg, and then Bragança), but that grand inquisitors and deputies of the General Council were inserted in different clientele or familial networks, naturally choosing diverse camps at those two critical moments of Portuguese political history. The author's familiarity with a wide range of archives in Portugal, Spain and Rome, has resulted in an important contribution to the historiography of the Portuguese Inquisition and of Portugal under the Hapsburgs.