Mistress of the Art of Death (2008) by Ariana Franklin is an
absorbing blend of historical fact and grisly fiction that will keep readers
turning the pages. It is 1171 in Cambridge, England, and Henry II is extremely
agitated—four children have been found murdered and mutilated and the townsfolk
are blaming the Jews, who have sought shelter in the castle. King Henry, less
concerned about the murderer than the tax revenue he is losing while the Jewish
community languishes in the fortress, appeals to the king of Sicily to send him
a master of the art of death, one who can examine the deceased and determine
the cause of death.
Dr. Vesuvia Adelia
Rachel Ortese Aguilar, a mistress of this art, arrives with a returning group
of pilgrims. Along with an eunuch escort named Mansur and Simon of Naples, a
Jew with an affinity for detection, she must piece together the mystery of
these gruesome crimes before the monster kills again.
Review by Peter Critchley, Vernon Branch
Review by Peter Critchley, Vernon Branch
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