“CSI meets The Canterbury Tales” is how Kirkus (in a starred review) described Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin. The description made me laugh. I’ve seen a total of ten minutes of CSI in my life, and I haven’t read The Canterbury Tales, but still, it seems apt.
This is an excellent book. I gave it an A. Historical mystery with romantic elements, set in the twelfth century in Cambridge, England. Fantastic detail, fantastic writing. Gruesome, I should add, but appropriately so.
It’s written in omniscient, but mostly that omniscient point of view is centered on the main character. A rarity for her time, Adelia is a woman doctor trained in Salerno, Italy, and she must hide her talent for having the dead speak to her. (She does autopsies.) She is dispatched by the King of Sicily to Cambridge where children are being killed and Jews are accused of the crime. She is accompanied by a “fixer” (a solver of crimes and mysteries and problems) and by her guard who poses as the real doctor.
Franklin is terrific at giving different characters a different way of talking, be it the local patois or a foreign sounding way of speech. She delivers a great sense of place. Most importantly she builds the suspense effectively until the finale where the murderer is confronted, and the denouement is also effective. Great pacing. The depiction of Henry II is also fascinating.
There is a second book in this series, and I will definitely be picking it up.
I have to say I have great luck with Keishon’s mystery recommendations.
Reviews of Mistress of the Art of the Death:
- Avid Reader A
- Jayne of Dear Author A
Oh, awesome! I love Diana Norman who writes under the Franklin pen name. I have the arc for the next book waiting TBR. I have spent some serious money to get her entire backlist. She is just the absolute best writer I have had the pleasure of reading. Absolute best.
I tried a Diana Norman once and put it down. Can’t remember the title and can’t remember why. (Sometimes I’m just not in the right mood for a book.)
But I will definitely have to look for more of her stuff. I loved the way she introduced the love interest. He wasn’t a faux suspect at all. Adelia seriously considered him a candidate. The Serpent’s Tale is up next!
Is City of Shadows really sad?
City of Shadows – sad? Hard to say because it’s been awhile since I read it. The protag, Esther survived a pogrom and has a face that is half scarred. The story was one that I had trouble getting into at first but when I was out in the country, I was determined to read it and finish and I did. It’s gripping once you get past the first three chapters or so but sad? I can’t recall the story being depressive. The author goes into the murder of the Romanov’s, then there is the murder of several people in connection to a woman claiming to be the last czar’s long lost daughter, Anastasia and then you have the political and economical climate of Germany that was ever changing and tension charged. A very good read but the author does have a tendency to wander somewhat but this was a good book. I think you’d like it.
It sounds like something I’d like. I don’t know why, but I had the feeling the protag was doomed or something. I find those kind of books hard to read.
[...] rated A: The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne Death of a Pirate King by Josh Lanyon Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin [2 romance, 1 historical [...]