Book Review: MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH BY ARIANA FRANKLIN

Genre:  Historical Fiction
Published by:  Bantam Books  (May 2008)
Pages:  525  (Paperback)

My Rating:  9/10

About the Book:

Adelia Aguilar is a rare thing in medieval Europe – a woman who has trained as a doctor. Her speciality is the study of corpses, a skill that must be concealed if she is to avoid accusations of witchcraft.
But in Cambridge a child has been murdered, others are disappearing, and King Henry has called upon a renowned Italian investigator to find the killer – fast.
What the king gets is Adelia, his very own Mistress of the Art of Death.
The investigation takes Adelia deep into Cambridge; its castle and convents, and streets teeming with life. And it is here that she attracts the attention of a murderer who is prepared to kill again…

In the first of a series of novels featuring Adelia, we are introduced to this woman from Solerno, Italy who has come to England to help find the killer of several children without disclosing the fact that she’s a real doctor.  It wasn’t easy for her but she understood peoples superstitions and was careful not to be regarded as a witch.

Adelia Aguilar is now one of my favourite historical characters, she’s a woman in a man’s world, way ahead of her time, intelligent, witty, independent  and obsessed with the dead and what their bodies tell her.....and she’s not afraid of speaking her mind!

I thought the storyline was compelling …. there was a little romance … some gruesome details describing the childrens deaths and their injuries …... some wonderful warm and quirky characters, especially Gyltha the cook and housekeeper who is a big softy despite her rough exterior …... a few nasty characters …... a good steady build up to the killers identity, which I didn’t guess...... all simply told.

I would recommend this one for all medieval murder mystery fans.  

Sadly, the author Ariana Franklin passed away earlier this year but she leaves us with three more in this series --

The Serpent’s Tale (aka The Death Maze)
Relics of the Dead (aka Grave Goods)
A Murderous Procession (aka The Assassin’s Prayer)

This is my 3rd and final read in The Great Transworld Crime Caper Challenge

This is my 4th read in the Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge 2011 hosted by Book Chick City

For more on Ariana Franklin please click here

Book Review: Knight's Angel by Ronda Melendez

Genre: Historical Fiction: Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Outskirts Press (2009)
Pages: Paperback 126
ISBN-10: 1432738815
ISBN-13: 978-1432738815







First Sentence:

The wind howled outside Angel's classroom window.

Angel is the Professor of Medieval History at the University of Texas. Recently she has been haunted by dreams of Medieval England where she meets Llewellyn the Sorcerer, and she sees the handsome Lord D'Arcy.
She is then invited to England on an archeological dig where she has another dream and this time she is swept back in time to meet the people from her dreams.................

This is Ronda Melendez's debut novel and is the first in the 'Fated to Love' series.

I'll get my main criticism out of the way first! It was very difficult to form a comprehensive picture of any of the characters, I didn't know their height, build, facial features, traits, likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, what they were feeling or thinking most of the time. The only description was of their hair and I was informed several times that the Lady Angel was 'very beautiful' but how and why was she beautiful?
In order to empathise with them I really need to get to know them, of how their mind works, in order that I can care about what happens to them. I felt that this information was sketchy at best in this book.

Also, there is a timeline very near the end that I found confusing, it just didn't make sense.

Now to the positives! Overall though, I did enjoy reading this medieval fantasy, at only 126 pages long it was a quick, light and easy read, with likeable characters. I was particuarly impressed with Angel's toughness in dealing with her adversaries which both surprised and amused the men! I had a sense of the lives of people in those olden times. Whilst reading I was reminded of Barbara Erskine's Lady of Hay.

This is a paragraph (page 33) where Angel is adjusting to her new life

It was certainly beautiful here, Angel mused to herself silently. She would have no qualms about staying here in this time and place. There was a sense of being and belonging that she had never felt before. Not even back in her own time. It was like finding the perfect pair of jeans that fit you just right.

This is a book that would appeal to anyone interested in medieval times/romance and who doesn't want a complicated storyline.

About the Author:

You can read about Ronda Melendez here

Her sequel to Knight's Angel will be available soon and is called Angel's Heart.