An improbable piece of historical fiction based on a female medical forensic specialist (a topic popular at the current time, judging by all of the csi's on tv) back in 12 century England under the reign of Henry II. Despite the improbablility, the author has drawn some very good characters and developed a very good plot line.

This book was an enjoyable summer diversion. One must applaud the author's genius of taking currently popular topics and plugging them into a historical fiction format. "Mistress....." is the first in a series (there are currently 2 later stories available). I'm not likely to pick up the other two because I think this first one has the perfect ending. ( )

A great read! Ms. Franklin immerses us in the medieval times, customs and characters that Doctor Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar, a progenitory forensic pathologist, encounters in her quest to exonerate the Henry II’s Jews of the savage murder of children in twelfth century England. Well written and plotted with hints and pieces of evidence lying about for us to contemplate while a monster skulks about in the shadows, violently protecting its lair and obsession. Ms. Franklin portrays a strong femininecharacter without sacrificing femininity. Crichton’s females were all strong and smart – too strong physically - but are found wanting in Dr. Aguilar’s shadow. Strongly recommended. A must read for historical fiction readers. ( )

"Mistress of the Art of Death" by Ariana Franklin was a group read here on LT...The Highly Rated Book Group sponsored it, with the game-though-gravid Vintage_Books leading us through some very trenchant questions about our impressions of both the book and the world it's set in...and thank goodness for that! It's a lot more fun to read a book in a group of like-minded people, ones who read on multiple levels like our brethren and sistern here on this site.

Adelia Vesuvia, our sleuth, is a forensic physician in a time when I didn't know such existed. The twelfth century is a time period I find extremely fascinating. I've read a fair bit about this time, focusing on English and French history and the Crusades (those horrific events!); Catholic Church history at this time, when the schism from Eastern Orthodoxy was new and the invention of religious primacy in matters of the state was being consolidated, is also an interest of mine.

This book's evocation of that time is appealing to me precisely because it's relatively new to my somewhat jaded sensibilities. Salerno as the primary focus of Western medicine is a well-trodden path; the fact that Salernitan physicians could be women is not well-trodden, and the simple IDEA of forensics in this time...! Irresistable pulls for me, the historian-who-hated-school.

So I was disposed from the giddy-up to like the book. The author's execution was the primary unknown quantity for me. I am thrilled and delighted with the execution because the characters, while displaying anachronistic ideas and ideals, are quite believably constructed and supplied with plausible motivations for their divergent social attitudes. I can willingly suspend my disbelief at every turn where the story requires me to do so. That's very high praise from me!

Characterization, in a series mystery, is make-or-break. Do I, the reader, like this group of people enough to continue inviting them out to dinner? (The price of a hardcover book being equivalent to the price of an entree at a tablecloth restaurant; the trade paper to an entree at Applebee's or TGIFriday's; the rack-size to a value meal at the local McDonald's; which restaurant am I willing to take these characters to?) The answer, while unique to each individual, is the source of the publisher's and author's income. It behooves all parties to the preparation and publication of a mystery to consider this. The good people at Putnam, now a tentacle of the Penguin empire, have done a very very good job of making this assessment and bringing a solid, interesting cast of regulars to my table at Le Cirque.

Sir Rowley, Adelia Vesuvia's English suitor, is a fine example. He's three dimensional in his pursuit of her, not simply presented as out to get some one thing; I think of some of the characters in Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries as contrasts to this quality of characterization. We're given to understand that Sir Rowley has goals and ambitions that Adelia Vesuvia can both forward and threaten in equal measure. His ultimate place in her life, and her in his, isn't a foregone conclusion. Both characters are presented as struggling with what the other means to them on multiple planes. That's just plain good storytelling. It will keep me buying hardcovers as long as Franklin keeps doing it.

The minor characters, eg Gyltha the housekeeper and Mansur the Moor, are deftly drawn as well. They don't, in contrast to many series mysteries, come across as convenient mouth-pieces for the author's needed plot developments. (*cough*PhryneFisher'sDot*cough*)

Finally, the integration of real political developments like Henry II's move to take control of the Church's legal framework in his empire, is seamless enough to take a moment to recall as factual instead of created. It's necessary to move this plot forward. But it's also the historical reality. Well done, madam! Seldom achieved in fiction, still less the less-respected "genre" fiction that mysteries are published as.

This is a four-and-a-half star recommended book. Sally forth and procure it from yon bookery. ( )

An interesting take on historical thriller set in 12 th century England. An well though out main plot (missing children) acts as a great backdrop to play out the tensions between Church and State, religious and gender identity. More than that I really like both the main character Adelia – a women some years ahead of her time and the strong supporting secondary cast. ( )

Setting: Cambridge, 1171.
First Line: Here they come.

Mistress of the Art of Death is the first in a series of medieval forensic mysteries by Ariana Franklin, the wife of film critic Barry Norman.
Children are going missing in medieval Cambridge and the local residents are blaming the town's Jewish population. This is causing a headache for Henry II as the Jews pay the most tax and the King is worried that he will loose revinue. He sends a request to the Italian University of Salerno for a doctor trained in the art of death. The help arrives in the form of Adelia Aguilar, a mistress of the art of death. Adelia begins the hunt for the killer, whilst having to hide her qualifications in a country that would have her tried as a witch.
Franklin has created a great cast of secondary characters who help bring to the page an enjoyable re-creation of medieval life in England. I'd recommended this to anyone who enjoys Amelia Peabody mysteries, as they both have a strong willed female central character. ( )