The Serpent's Tale

I had my name on the list at the public library--awaiting the sequel to Ariana Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death (see my earlier blog post on that) and it finally came last week. I devoured it in the way that true bibliophiles do--ignoring social conventions of conversation, participation in meal preparation, etc. Well worth the wait! Our medieval forensic doctor, Adelia Aguilar, is called back into service by King Henry II from her retirement to country life in the fens of central England. Henry's favorite mistress has been poisoned; all the obvious clues lead to Henry's disgruntled Queen. If Queen Eleanor is truly guilty, civil war is seemingly inevitable and Henry doesn't want that, so Adelia must determine the true identity of mistress Rosalind's assassin. Adelia is also reunited in this book with Rowley Picot, her former lover and father of her baby daughter; he is now Bishop of St. Albans and their relationship is very complex and totally understandable given their individual dispositions. Franklin is the pen name for Diana Norman, who has written a handful of other historical novels, many of them also set in the middle ages , and she has become quite well known for the accuracy of her historical research and richness of characters. All of this plus the challenge of finding the killer(s) makes for an absolutely engrossing read. I love learning about a country, a culture, a time period-- through literature, especially when it is well researched and palatably written. These remind me of Candace Robb's mysteries with another strong woman protagonist who works as an herbalist in medieval England. Other authors using similar time period and settings are Sharon Penman and Edith Pargeter (aka Ellis Peters) of Brother Cadfael fame. Of course I loved the BBC series with Derek Jacoby playing Cadfael. Anyway, this book is an absolutely delicious diversion so hide yourself away for a weekend and dive in.