Mistress of the Art of Death (original 2007; edição 2007)

I came into this book thinking that it would be set in the Rennaisance with the protagonist as a rare female assassin; in actuality the novel is set in Plantagenet England with the protagonist being a female doctor who specializes in forensics. Not sure where I got this assumption, but clearly I judge books based on their titles and not at all on their back-cover summaries... Either way, I was completely drawn into the story, first by the carefully drawn cast of characters and then by the horrific plot. Ariana and company are tasked with solving the mystery behind the murders of four Cambridge children - a mystery which isn't truely revealed until the climax as the author keeps the reader as much in the dark as she does her characters. Even when the murderer is caught the horror does not end, as his accomplice is almost pardoned by the power of the Church; this ending leaves the reader with a lingering sense of malise, even when justice is served, since we are left with the knowledge that the court system is flawed in that time, which has certain unsettling similarities with the courts in our own time. ( )

Gripping and really interesting mystery, where I didn't guess who did it, AND I loved the protagonist. I think I'll pick up the rest of this series as I have time. ( )

Adelia is a forensic pathologist trained at the Salerno School of Medicine in 1178. She joins two others, Simon of Naples, and Mansur, Adelia's bodyguard and Muslim eunuch, at the request of the King of Sicily to travel to Cambridge, England and find out who has been killing village children. The Jews have been blamed and are now hiding in an area that is protected by King Edward II. Edward wants them to either be cleared of the crime or he will dispose of them all.

I love historical mysteries and it's very difficult to find ones with engaging female characters. I liked the way all the characters were introduced so the reader knows from the beginning who the suspect pool is. I found much of the local language difficult to understand at first, but once I got into the book it became easier to figure out. The first half of the book was a bit too slow moving for me but I really enjoyed the last half, which left me feeling more positive about my review. I don't know when I'll get around to it but I would like to continue with the second book in the series when I get a chance.

WTR - 529

( )

In 1171, the Jews of Cambridge, England, stand accused of blood libel: a young boy (now well on his way to achieving sainthood) has been murdered, ostensibly crucified. And just as Adelia and her two colleagues, her fellow investigator Simon and her bodyguard Mansur, arrive in Cambridge to investigate, the bodies of three more missing children turn up. Adelia trained in Italy as a doctor and, essentially, a Middle-Age forensic pathologist, and she, Simon, and Mansur immediately start attempting to determine their killer. But there is no shortage of suspects, and as they begin to investigate, they are also being stalked.

I mainly decided to read this because it's included in lists of "medical thrillers," which let me complete that Popsugar category without reading anything too reminiscent of Current Times. I thought it was interesting enough--the pace was definitely quite quick, and it wasn't a difficult read (though I was happy that I read it as an ebook and had easy access to a dictionary, since there were a lot of words used that are presumably fitting to the time period but not common today)--and I enjoyed the variety of characters. I did guess part of the solution to the mystery before it was revealed, but the path to get there was enjoyable. Also, while I think that Adelia's character is quite likable from a modern perspective, I couldn't help feeling that she stood out as a bit anachronistic--while I of course think that it's wonderful to have a strong female lead, her presence in a twelfth-century England setting did push the bounds of belief for me a bit. ( )

This book was well written, but it wasn't entirely believable. A 13th century female sarisan doctor to the dead is called to England to investigate the deaths of a number of children accused of being murdered by Jews.

Follows all the usual twists adn turns of an episode of CSI.

The author seems to have an incredibly heritical view of the Church seemingly accusing every single preiest and religoius as being sexual devieants.

In addition ther is an uncessariliy graphic description of intercourse during the final chapters.

If I hadn't already purchased the sequel I probably wouldn't bother reading it. ( )