Specify Books Concering Mistress of the Art of Death (Mistress of the Art of Death #1)
| Original Title: | Mistress of the Art of Death |
| ISBN: | 0399154140 (ISBN13: 9780399154140) |
| Edition Language: | English URL http://mistressoftheartofdeath.com/ |
| Series: | Mistress of the Art of Death #1 |
| Characters: | Adelia Aguilar, Sir Rowley Picot, Simon Menahem de Nápoles |
| Setting: | Cambridge, England,1171(United Kingdom) |
| Literary Awards: | Macavity Award for Sue Feder Historical Mystery (2008), CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award (2007) |
Ariana Franklin
Hardcover | Pages: 384 pages Rating: 3.96 | 32228 Users | 2929 Reviews
Details Containing Books Mistress of the Art of Death (Mistress of the Art of Death #1)
| Title | : | Mistress of the Art of Death (Mistress of the Art of Death #1) |
| Author | : | Ariana Franklin |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 384 pages |
| Published | : | February 6th 2007 by G.P. Putnam's Sons |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Mystery. Fiction. Historical Mystery. Medieval. Crime |
Narration During Books Mistress of the Art of Death (Mistress of the Art of Death #1)
A chilling, mesmerizing novel that combines the best of modern forensic thrillers with the detail and drama of historical fiction. In medieval Cambridge, England, four children have been murdered. The crimes are immediately blamed on the town's Jewish community, taken as evidence that Jews sacrifice Christian children in blasphemous ceremonies. To save them from the rioting mob, the king places the Cambridge Jews under his protection and hides them in a castle fortress. King Henry II is no friend of the Jews-or anyone, really-but he is invested in their fate. Without the taxes received from Jewish merchants, his treasuries would go bankrupt. Hoping scientific investigation will exonerate the Jews, Henry calls on his cousin the King of Sicily-whose subjects include the best medical experts in Europe-and asks for his finest "master of the art of death," an early version of the medical examiner. The Italian doctor chosen for the task is a young prodigy from the University of Salerno. But her name is Adelia-the king has been sent a "mistress" of the art of death. Adelia and her companions-Simon, a Jew, and Mansur, a Moor-travel to England to unravel the mystery of the Cambridge murders, which turn out to be the work of a serial killer, most likely one who has been on Crusade with the king. In a backward and superstitious country like England, Adelia must conceal her true identity as a doctor in order to avoid accusations of witchcraft. Along the way, she is assisted by Sir Rowley Picot, one of the king's tax collectors, a man with a personal stake in the investigation. Rowley may be a needed friend, or the fiend for whom they are searching. As Adelia's investigation takes her into Cambridge's shadowy river paths and behind the closed doors of its churches and nunneries, the hunt intensifies and the killer prepares to strike again . .Rating Containing Books Mistress of the Art of Death (Mistress of the Art of Death #1)
Ratings: 3.96 From 32228 Users | 2929 ReviewsNotice Containing Books Mistress of the Art of Death (Mistress of the Art of Death #1)
A medieval mystery in which Simon of Naples, a eunuch and a unique woman with the ability to decipher the wounds inflicted on bodies, race to discover the identity of a violent killer of children before he strikes again.From its opening lines, The Mistress of the Art of Death had me in its thrall. "Here they come. From down the road we can hear harnesses jingling and see dust rising into the warm spring sky. Pilgrims returning after Easter in Canterbury. Tokens of the mitered, martyred SaintYou are a drab, she told herself, seduced into infatuation by a soldiers tale. Outremer, bravery, crusade, it is illusory romance.Greg wrote this https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... a few years back and the crux is applicable here. I was looking for a detour, something fun after so much Rome, plague and Theory. I found Ms. Franklin's premise interesting, if highly improbable. Such proceeded and the tale veered into the impossible. The protagonist maintains a bubble of certainty which is
Four and a half stars.A historical thriller, The Mistress of the Art of Death, will rival modern day forensic medicine novels. The story combines medieval England in the 1200 century, crusader knights, questionable nuns, suspicious monks, and, a sly King Henry II, not to mention, four horribly mutilated dead children and the Jewish community that stands accused of these atrocities. The people of Cambridge believe the Jews have crucified their children in a passover rite. Then, add to this
Read 8/23-8/29/07Mistress of the Art of Death tells the tale of Adelia, a "doctor to the dead" in the 12th century. Dispatched from her academic existence at the University of Salerno to medieval Cambridge to investigate the gruesome death of four children, Adelia is forced to hide her true identity and attempt to blend in with the provincial English folk. Alternately horrified and fascinated, Adelia struggles to fulfill her mission, dodging danger and deceit at every turn, and maintain her
I hate to not finish a book but I have to put this one aside. It's due at the library in a few days and I just couldn't get into it. It's not a bad book though, just not my scene :)
Start with Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." Throw in a cameo of a calculating and brash King Henry II straight from "The Lion in Winter." Add some medieval mystery on par with Umberto Eco's groundbreaking "The Name of the Rose". And finish it off with the forensics of "CSI", and you'll have some appreciation for Ariana Franklin's remarkable achievement in "Mistress of the Art of Death", a fresh and inspired twist of historical fiction and crime thriller, a blockbuster of murder and mayhem told
This book is hard to rate; I think I'd give it about a 2.75. It held my attention throughout. It had a couple of moments that sent shivers down my spine. And I'm not sure I won't read more in the Adelia series. But there are some technical issues with Mistress of the Art of Death, and more importantly, I feel like Mistress took me to darker places than I wanted to go, and didn't have enough of anything else to make it worth the trip.Everything after this is a SPOILER. Also, this is not a formal
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