Relics of the Dead

This third book in the 'Mistress of the Art of Death' series finds the Salerno trained forensic physician Adelia Aguilar dispatched to the newly destroyed Glastonbury Abbey by Henry II to investigate a pair of skeletons that Henry hopes will turn out to be King Arthur and his queen. Once there, Adelia becomes entangled with a most charming, if odorous, group of rogues who are attempting to prove the innocence of one of their deceased brethren. Add to this her friend Emma who has gone missing, a saintly abbot, an innkeeper who faints from fright when meeting Adelia, an isle of lepers, haunting dreams, and, of course, Rowly, bishop of St. Albans and father of Adelia's daughter, Allie.

If there are more delightful literary characters than show more Franklin's Adelia, Rowly, and King Henry II, I can't think who they are. I would say that characterization is her strong point; however, her historical research is meticulous (though it never burdens the reader) and her plotting is expert. So what's not to like?

If you haven't read Franklin, by all means start with the first book in the series; the characters actually develop and their relationships change. And keep in mind that Franklin is Diana Norman; the books written under the Norman name are worth a look too. show less

The third in the "Mistress of the Art of Death" series, this novel brings Adelia, the Mistress of the Art of Death (a kind of medieval forensic pathologist trained at Salerno), into the King Arthur & Avalon myth and history. A fire at Glastonbury Abbey reveals two skeletons, rumor to be King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. King Henry II hopes so, because he believes that if the Welsh believe that Arthur is truly dead (the Welsh believe that he will rise and save them) it will help him put down a rebellion in Wales. To make certain, he sends Adelia Aguilar, his Mistress of the Art of Death, to Glastonbury to examine the bones—and prove they really are Arthur and Guinevere. At the same time, the investigation into the abbey fire will be show more overseen by the Bishop of St. Albans, father of Adelia's daughter. Trouble is, someone at Glastonbury doesn't want either mystery solved, and is prepared to kill to prevent it. In addition, a subplot is introduced involving Adelia’s friend Emma and her disappearance. I really enjoy this historical mystery series. The characters are wonderful. Adelia is smart, strong and caring. I also enjoy the history lesson, this time it included inheritance, King Henry’s introduction of the beginnings of the English legal system, the Arthur mythology and the treatment of leprosy. Can’t wait for the next in the series. A 4 ½ out of 5 stars. show less

Adelia Aguilar has earned the title “Mistress of the Art of Death” in the service of King Henry II, for her expertise analyzing bones and other human remains. Her role is highly unusual for a 12th century woman, so she often pretends to be an assistant to her colleague Mansur, and the two communicate in Arabic. In this novel, Henry has sent Adelia to Glastonbury to investigate bones found after the Abbey was destroyed in a fire, which he believes may be those of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. She travels most of the way with her friend Emma, but after their paths diverge Emma disappears without a trace. Distraught, Adelia is committed to solving two mysteries. Throughout her investigation she gets herself into all kinds of show more trouble, adding suspense to a story rich with historic detail. There are enough plot twists to keep readers guessing all the way to the tale’s satisfying resolution. show less

Fleeing from her beloved fens to avoid being convicted as a heretic, Adelia is shortly summoned by the king to discover the truth about a set of skeletons unearthed in Glastonbury. Recently the scene of a devastating fire, the holy site has a chance of renewal thanks to the discovery of the supposed bones of Arthur and Guinevere.

Having had to put down a number of upstart Welsh rebellions lately, Henry II is very invested in showing his misbehaving subjects that King Arthur is in fact dead and will not be returning as Future King. Adelia is dismayed by these new orders as she knows of no scientific way to prove the age of a set of bones. However, when the king commands she has little choice in the matter.

Upon arriving at the ruins of show more Glastonbury, however, it soon becomes clear that there are any number of plots afoot. After the fire, something critical has changed - an evil has arrived and will need to be exorcised before the truth can be known.

Adelia will need all her wits if she is to outmaneuver the unknown parties who are once again seeking to kill her before she can uncover the secrets of the bones. In the meantime, she is having strange dreams which portend something grim and her friend Emma seems to have vanished from the face of the earth along with her young son.

These books just keep getting better and better! I thoroughly enjoyed this installment and can't wait to read the next. show less

If you are looking for a representative example of the historical murder mystery genre, well you might want to keep looking. You know, the book where someone is killed in the first chapter, the clues are gathered, the tension (and possibly the body count) rises until the murderer is caught in the last or second to last chapter, after which the detective explains the mystery, and then some secondary characters get to do something happy.

Don’t get me wrong, I quite like that book too, but if that is what you are looking for you are going to be frustrated by this one. The murderer is going to get revealed way too early, and there are going to be all these minor characters who wont stay in the background, the detective is going to make show more some foolish mistakes and get distracted by curiosity about things that don’t lead to uncovering the perpetrators… its just going to be odd.

So, enough about what this book isn’t. Now for what it is. It is about 40% mystery and 60% really good historical novel about the high middle ages, with a protagonist who struggles with how to be an educated woman outside of a nunnery (yes they did exist) and doesn’t always get it right. Personally I love it. I think this series is just getting better and better.

Also it contains paragraphs like this one, which I find truly wonderful;
Time resumed. There was warmth and the smell of wildflowers and above, a sky as blue as sailors’ trousers, the hum of bees, and –oh God how strange – the sound of plainsong coming from the ruins of a church where, unknowing, impervious holy men still celebrated the third hour of daylight, allowing the six note hexagons of their song to bring order back to a universe in which, for her, there had been chaos.


Nicely done Ms. Franklin, thank you for some really pleasurable hours of reading. show less

(This was an Audio book for me...)
I have read a lot of the reviews and while I understand some of the chagrins (about this or that), I can't wait to see what develops next between Ms Aguilar and Rowley, they are oil and water in a dressing, wonderful together, yet they have trouble emulsifying..=] Ms Franklin is deft in her characterization of these characters and they are very engaging. (I also enjoyed the interactions Adelia has with Henry II, and how far we have come (legally speaking).) The mystery itself was interwoven with another mystery...So that did keep me interested and her meticulousness in her historical detail is... well, fun and enlightening.

The book opens in 1154 as an earthquake engulfs Glastonbury Abbey and a dying monk sees people lowering a coffin into a fissure created in the earth. Did the coffin contain the body of the legendary King Arthur, long-thought to be merely sleeping in the nearby hills until his people need him again? Twenty-two years later the monk’s nephew, who was present as his uncle died, shares the information with King Henry II who has just quashed one Welsh rebellion and is desperate to rid himself of the legend of Arthur lying in wait to rise again. There has been a fire at Glastonbury Abbey and Henry orders the coffin to be dug up. He then commands the one person in his kingdom who has the skills to authenticate the bones as Arthur’s. Adelia show more Aguilar, the doctor who can ‘read bones’, reluctantly agrees to attempt to determine the age of the bones. With her daughter and faithful attendants she travels to Glastonbury, travelling part of the way with Lady Emma Wolvercote and her party who are on their way to lay claim to Lady Emma’s estate. Later, Adelia discovers she did not make it to her destination. Or did she?

As with the previous two books in this series, Relics of the Dead is first and foremost a good old-fashioned adventure full of brave Knights performing feats of derring-do while less noble souls engage in more prosaic acts. The legend of Arthur and Guinevere is woven artfully into the story unfolding around Adelia in the present day and there’s barely a moment for the reader to catch her breath with several action-packed threads playing out at once.

All of this is accompanied by engrossing information about the historical period, so you feel like you’re learning something while being thoroughly entertained. Under her real name (Diana Norman) Franklin has researched and written extensively about Henry II and her affection for the man is evident in this book. His faults are talked about, but Franklin generally tends to highlight his foresight and modern thinking by introducing such things as trial-by-jury and other innovations. Having read three of these books now, I’m beginning to develop my own crush on Henry Plantagenet.

Although some people argue that Adelia is an unbelievable character for her time, Franklin makes a a good case that women in her situation would have had more scope to fend for themselves than the true upper class women that Adelia sometimes mixes with. And even if she is not entirely credible for her time, she’s wonderful: strong, loving, loyal and smart. Her loyal attendants from the previous books, Mansur and Gyltha, are again excellent in their supporting roles and of course the Bishop of St Albans, the father of Adelia’s child, makes another trouble-filled appearance. There are some unforgettable new characters in this tale too, not least of which is the old woman who runs the Pilgrim’s Inn at which Adelia and her party stay while in Glastonbury. Franklin is a dab hand at developing very strong, memorable characters quite quickly.

Sadly Diana Norman passed away earlier this year and I have not heard of any unpublished manuscripts lying about so I only have one last book in this series to read, which I think I shall save for some time. I thoroughly recommend this installment of the series to anyone who loves getting absorbed in well-written adventures full of memorable characters. show less