REVIEW: Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin, published Feb 2007, is a medieval mystery and the start of a new series, featuring medieval forensic investigator, Dr. Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar of Salerno.

The story is told in third person and is set in 12th Century England. It is a time of unrest and evil has somehow made it’s home in Cambridgeshire. The King of Sicily has sent two detectives from Salerno to Cambridge to investigate the murders of 4 children.

Since the death of the first child, Roger of Acton, a cleric new to town, accuses the Jews of ritualistic murder of their children and sparks a riot. All hell breaks loose and the local law enforcement can barely maintain order. Meanwhile, King Henry II is sent a petition to expel the Jews from his realm but he is not willing to let them go so easily.

But then the King is in a rather vulnerable position to make a stand against the Church in this matter. After his screaming rage that led to a bishop’s murder, King Henry II is at the mercy of the Church. How to solve this dilemma especially since the Jews make up a substantial portion of his Royal treasury?

Upon royal request, Salerno sends it’s top investigator, Simon of Naples and his companion in the study of death, a woman, Dr. Adelia Aguilar and her eunuch manservant, Mansur, to Cambridge to investigate the deaths of the four children and to exonerate the Jews of these terrible crimes and restore order.

While traveling, they meet up with the Pilgrims from Canterbury and manage to gain an influential ally in Prior Geoffrey of St. Augustine. Suffering from urinary retention, Prior Geoffrey is forever in debt to Adelia for saving his life. Like many people outside Salerno, the prior is shocked to learn that Adelia is a medical doctor and fearful of that knowledge getting out since there are hardly any women doctors in England.

However, Salerno has a reputation of allowing women to practice medicine and is revered and respected as a place of healing for many of the sick and dying. Adelia with no chaperon (her childhood nurse died during the journey), must hide the fact that she is a doctor in order to avoid being hung for witchcraft or worse. So, she is forced to work under less than ideal conditions without the proper equipment to decipher what the dead is telling her.

Arriving at Cambridge, Prior Geoffrey finds shelter for Adelia and her team on the outskirts of Cambridge with Gyltha and her grandson, Ulf. It affords them some privacy while they investigate the murders and try to locate a killer who is still at large. Prior Geoffrey fills them in on the state of affairs for the Jews in Cambridge, who are now locked up in the tower and who are always heckled by Roger of Acton. No sooner do they arrive in Cambridge that word spreads that a doctor from Salerno is in the city. The sick line up in droves thereby distracting them a bit from the investigation.

Adelia’s job won’t be an easy one. Besides being fearful of being seen as a witch, the dead are not allowed to be dissected. It is viewed with “revulsion”  by the Church. It is against the teaching of the Church to ”invade the sanctity of the body.” Adelia eventually meets up with Sir Rowley Picot, the tax collector and King Henry’s “fix it” man, as she is doing an autopsy. He has journeyed to Cambridge to investigate the death of the children as well. An investigation for him that started back on Crusade. The two reluctantly end up working together to find out who is incriminating the Jews for these hideous crimes.

Here are my thoughts: The author has a firm grasp of her characters and setting- as she always does. One of Ms. Franklin’s skills as an author is that she allows the reader to travel to 12th Century England without it feeling like a history lesson. The story has great atmosphere that sometimes gave me chills. The revelation of the villain in this story was somewhat of a surprise for me because there really wasn’t very many clues to figure it out. The sinister feeling that something evil is out and about in Cambridge was not wasted because the villain in this book does not disappoint. Truly the devil incarnate. I liked the fact that the story was somewhat unpredictable (at least for me) and very edge of your seat suspenseful.

As for the most important part of the story - the romance (she said jokingly), it was nice and straight forward. Ms. Franklin/Norman doesn’t write explicit love scenes in her books but there are love scenes and they are nicely done.

The author plans to make this a series so the romantic subplot will be an ongoing one.  While the romantic subplot was not the focus, it was well developed and one of the most enjoyable parts of the book. Just think of it as an added bonus. Moving on, I really enjoyed all the characters in the story and even the not so nice ones like Roger of Acton, because they definitely kept the story interesting.

Another big reason why I enjoy Ms. Franklin/Norman is that she creates really strong heroines who push against the restraints of their time. I liked Adelia. She is headstrong and smart. Fluent in many languages. Her heart is in her work: speaking for the dead. Then there’s King Henry II himself who is one of the most memorable characters in the story despite the fact that he had very few scenes in the book. He is charming and clever and refuses to let Adelia go back to Sicily (and I am glad for it, too).

As for the plotting of the story - well done. The denouement was excellent and kept me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed the story so much that if there were flaws I didn’t notice them. Be aware however, that the story does develop slowly so I guess that would be deemed a problem for some readers. I’d say after the first five or so chapters that if you are not hooked into the story after a certain plot twist, don’t go any further. I was hooked from the first page but then I’ve read this author before and I know what to expect from her. My grade, A. I already have the sequel, The Serpent’s Tale, sitting on my nightstand.

This book is available as ebook, hardcover and the trade paperback edition will be released Jan 29, 2008.

Technorati Tags: Ariana Franklin, Reviews, Diana Norman, 12th Century England, Medieval Mystery, Forensic Mystery

Tagged as: Ariana Franklin, Diana Norman, Mistress of the Art of Death series