The Serpent's Tale

By: Ariana Franklin

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

The follow-up to Mistress of the Art of Death - in the national best-selling series hailed as "the medieval answer to Kay Scarpetta and the CSI detectives."

When King Henry II's mistress is found poisoned, suspicion falls on his estranged queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. The king orders Adelia Aguilar, expert in the science of death, to investigate - and hopefully stave off civil war. A reluctant Adelia finds herself once again in the company of Rowley Picot, the new Bishop of St. Albans...and her baby's father. Their discoveries into the crime are shocking - and omens of greater danger to come.

©2008 Ariana Franklin (P)2008 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A deliciously dark and effective concoction of historical fiction, suspense, romance, adventure and forensics." (Miami Herald)

"An irresistible novel." (New York Daily News)

"A brilliant tapestry of medieval life and death." (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Wish there were more forensics

Book seven 2018: THE SERPENT'S TALE by Ariana Franklin. The second in the MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH series is excellent, starting right out with the murder of "the rose of the world," the favorite mistress of Henry II. Adelia has to investigate again, while Rowley (now a bishop) works to prevent a civil war between the forces of the escaped Eleanor of Aquitaine and her estranged husband Henry. There are gory scenes of Rosamund's body decaying at a desk and later on her bed. In reality, Eleanor's cause is just an excuse for a malevolent priest and a cruel acquisitive lord to try to take land and power. There are wonderful lines from Rowley when he first sees his daughter ("Any man can have a son; it takes a real man to father a daughter!" and that Adelia is good for nothing except "causing the sun to rise every day." This series is a great mystery series set in the twelfth century and a wonderful love story. My only criticism: there is not as much opportunity for Adelia to use her forensic skills in this second novel. Kate Reading is great again.

Great series

I wish Audible would put these in order, though. The first in the series is Mistress in the Art of Death. Second is The Serpent's Tale; third is Grave Goods; fourth is Murderous Procession. The books, consumed in the correct sequence, develop the main characters quite well and each story line is totally satisfying.

Medieval medical thriller

I thoroughly enjoyed Franklin's first book in this series, Mistress of Death. This book had good development etc, but medical details were not so prominent as in Mistress. Someone commented that Adelia whined throughout the book. While that seems a bit of an exaggeration, I agree her character was not as forceful as in Mistress and she did indeed whine. The love story is quite unique. It is not an overpowering portion of the plot but does add to the whole story. I found the narrator to be fine. It was a good book and I think you would clearly benefit if you read them in order without a large amount of time between the 2 novels. You will recall the characters more clearly and enjoy the story line better. Its definitely worth reading.

No Downside to Reading This

This is a great series, whether read or listened too. The central figure is fascinating, and the historical background is interesting. If you don't know much about early English history (as is the case with me), this is a painless way to get a good, casual sense of it.

great series

I'm really enjoying this series. She whines a little too much, but its not unbearable.

Lightweight Fun

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I love Adalia and her odd life and even odder companions. The book is silly and sometimes a little obvious but the author has so much fun and is so playful that I enjoy the heck out of this series.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

A little predictable but satisfying. There are always a few tiny twists I don't expect.

What aspect of Kate Reading’s performance would you have changed?

Nothing. She's just fine.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I might go to see how some of the more improbable scenes would be carried out. Corpses don't make great actors!

Any additional comments?

Semi-historical, all fiction. Lightweight and fun with a little bit of education thrown in for color.

Not as good...

As book 1. I love Kate Reading and as always she did a fabulous job. But for me the book wasn't as enjoyable. It was good and definitely worth the read, but it was basically a detective story. What I liked best about the first book was the idea if a forensic scientist in midevil times...and a woman to boot. But I found this story more of just a whodunit. Adelia never really has the opportunity to really examine anything...not the surroundings, the body not really much of anything. I will probably move to book 3 just to see how it goes, but for me this was a disappointment.

Loved it!

This is the second book in the series that I've listened to. They are so good, I have to pace myself so I don't finish them in 2 days. They're staged in an era I knew very little about, so I feel like I'm learning something, along with trying to solve a very perplexing mystery. Very enjoyable!

Disappointing compared to the first

I was so excited after listening to the first one, I could hardly wait. But I was disappointed. This one did'nt have nearly the medical lore/investigation as the last one that was so interersting (I'm not an historian, so I have no idea if either was historically accurate). The protaganist was really just passive...the case solved itself without much input or sleuthing from her- which was part of what was so much fun about Mistress of the Art of Death. I just started A Grave Surprise and hope that it'll be just as good as the first one.

Rife with Historical Inaccuracies and Anachronisms

Would you try another book from Ariana Franklin and/or Kate Reading?

Kate Reading is a fine narrator. I'm not sure I could stomach the sloppy research and silly plot of another Ariana Franklin book.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was fine. The story was silly.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was disappointed and annoyed by this book. I've read a number of biographies and historical studies of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Their characters in this book bear little resemblance to what is known of them. The entire plot depends on the Elizabethan-era canard that Eleanor of Aquitaine poisoned Rosamund Clifford. That didn't happen. Rosamund did not live in a tower protected by a labyrinth. There is no evidence that Rosamund held pretensions to becoming queen; even if Eleanor had divorced him, it would have been inconceivable for Henry to marry the insignificant daughter of a minor Marcher lord who had been his mistress. Eleanor was a cunning and powerful woman. If she had escaped captivity, she would have fled to her own lands in Aquitaine to raise rebellion, not make a winter crossing to England where she never held much power. Moreover, she would have been attended by high-born vassals, not a crude mercenary. Eleanor mocking Rosamund for becoming "fat" applies modern standards of beauty to the 12th century; even a cursory examination of art and sculpture of the period shows that plump women were admired among the upper classes. I could go on and on. This was obviously a rushed work with sloppy research to take advantage of the success of Mistress of the Art of Death, which was much better even though it also contained a lot of anachronisms.