Mistress of the Art of Death

A Novel

By: Ariana Franklin

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

The national best-selling hit hailed by the New York Times as a "vibrant medieval mystery...[it] outdoes the competition."

In medieval Cambridge, England, Adelia, a female forensics expert, is summoned by King Henry II to investigate a series of gruesome murders that has wrongly implicated the Jewish population, yielding even more tragic results.

As Adelia's investigation takes her behind the closed doors of the country's churches, the killer prepares to strike again.

©2007 Ariana Franklin (P)2007 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., and Books on Tape. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"A fabulous read...irresistible." (New York Daily News)

"Vivid and engaging...succeeds brilliantly as both historical fiction and crime thriller. [A] terrific book...with a dozen twists." (Diana Gabaldon, Washington Post)

"One of the most compelling, suspenseful mysteries I've read in years." (New York Times best-selling author Sharon Kay Penman)

A 12th Century Bones

This is a cross between Kathy Reichs at her best and the work of a skilled historian. Franklin is a pseudonym for Diana Norman, a well-respected writer of historical fiction. Loved it. Hope Audible get's the sequel, Serpent's Tale, soon.

Impressive

I didn't think I would like this but I'm so impressed I've preordered the next one which doesn't come out until January. The characters are rich and compelling and the story is filled with both depth and compassion. I love thrillers, especially by British authors, but this is above and beyond what I usually expect. A must read.
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Medieval "Bones" or "Crossing Jordan"

Mistress of the Art of Death is a medieval version of Crossing Jordan or Bones. The main character is a woman doctor/coroner during a time period that viewed women as "less than" and expected them to make babies and cook. She struggles between being detached and scientific as she experiences myriad feelings within the small town of Cambridge. As a who-done-it, I thought I had figured out who the murderer was only to find out I was wrong. The other characters in the book have depth and are well-rounded. I became invested in each of them. The details about life in a time that had no technological advances were fascinating. The narrator does a fantastic job.. Her accent does not detract from the story - in fact, it adds to it. She even does well on the male voices. The only negative I could see was that it did go on a bit long after the murderer was discovered - but once I reached the end I understood why and am looking forward to more adventures with this character.

Great History Meets Fiction!

What a great story! The characters are well developed & each quite interesting. The story itself is timeless yet set in a time when the medical aspects seem impossible. I loved it from beginning to end. Love, murder, sexist macho wariors, old wise men...what more could you want?

A very good book

Any additional comments?

This book was a well-written murder mystery, with just the right amount of historical background to give it a 'different' feel... so it's not like so many other mysteries. Narration was very good too. Also, i hope this isn't a spoiler, but with about 2 hours left in the story, things started to wrap up, and i was worried it was going to drag into a romance... Quite the contrary, a historical aspect of things showed itself to add a different twist to the goings on and i quite enjoyed it. I won't say it was fast-paced, but the pacing was good. And the comedy was infrequent, but again, in all, well worth a listen. Recommended.

The best mystery series I've "read" in years!

A true mystery, no bodice ripping, totally addictive! The protagonist is fascinating, as are the details of daily life in the 1100's. It may not be believable from a cut and dried historically accurate perspective (probably not a lot of coroner work back then) but I love the idea that it MIGHT have been true and nothing feels like it's bordering on fantasy.

Medieval Bones

When I first downloaded the book I stop listening after a few minutes. The narrator's accent was hard to get use to along with the manner of speech which fits the period. However, I gave the book another try and loved it. Amilia is a character I would like to read or listen more of. A women with modern sense in the darkest time in history. Brilliant!

Slow start but good story

It took until chapter 6/7 that the story became enaging for me. Up until then I was forcing myself to listen to it despite my boredom. But once the story got going I looked forward to finding out what would happen next.

Great performance of good story. Independent woman

Entertaining with the strong woman doctor in 12th century capturing centerstage but the fact that Jews are still targets is most poignant.

Sting female lead

A rare combination of forensic medicine & mystery in the 12th century. Wonderful characters, not the least of which is a strong, and believable, female lead. The narration provides clear separation of characters and enhances the story line.