Mistress of the Art of Death (Mistress of the Art of Death, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Feb 01, 2009 Nadine in NY Jones rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, book-club-read, era-medieval, forensics

The first chapter did not thrill me, but I soldiered on ... and it gets SO much better after page 10!!! And, happily for me, this seems to be my June book club pick - bonus!

I really really enjoyed this book. Blurbs on its back compare it to CSI and Kay Scarpetta, and I really think those comparisons do it a disservice; I found it to be much weightier fare. It was a page-turner, yes, but it was dense and, well, weightier - graver, pithier, more serious, more interesting - it had gravitas. Kathy R The first chapter did not thrill me, but I soldiered on ... and it gets SO much better after page 10!!! And, happily for me, this seems to be my June book club pick - bonus!

I really really enjoyed this book. Blurbs on its back compare it to CSI and Kay Scarpetta, and I really think those comparisons do it a disservice; I found it to be much weightier fare. It was a page-turner, yes, but it was dense and, well, weightier - graver, pithier, more serious, more interesting - it had gravitas. Kathy Reichs writes some great forensic mysteries (although I didn't especially love her last two, but that's besides the point here) with a lot of very realistic detail on how Dr Brennan finds clues in/on the dead bodies. But yet somehow the murders are treated as sort of "oh well, this person died, now let's get to the good part of finding out whodunnit!" Whereas in this book, I really felt the awfulness and sorrow of the losses. I'm not quite sure how she did it, but I'm impressed.

Other pluses: Loved the realistic details of life during the 1100s; this book did a great job of adding in what seemed like realistic dialect, but not going so far that it was impossible to understand. I enjoyed the mystery and I completely guessed wrong at who was the murderer, and I liked how wrong I was. And most importantly, GREAT characters. Great main characters and great secondary characters. I was mostly able to keep all the secondary characters straight, and I was impressed with how well Ms Franklin was able to flesh them out, without making it obvious that she was doing it. And I just loved Adelia – she was odd and somewhat charming without being obviously extravagantly eccentric. I guess I really like how Ms Franklin was able to achieve so much without making it obvious that she was trying really hard.

On the minus sides: I did confuse a few of the characters: Joscelin and Gervase, Gilbert and Geoffrey - in the first case two knights, in the second two religious men – so right there is potential confusion, but then she goes and picks names that are soooo similar. Why did she choose those names?? But that was minor. My biggest sticking point with this book was, and the reason I can’t give it five stars: no matter how great the realistic details were, the protagonist’s thoughts were completely modern, and that often took me right out of the book, especially toward the end, when the superfluous romance developed –I just didn’t feel this is the way things would really happen back then.

...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 23, 2017 Tony rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, historical-fiction, crime, setting-england

This series debut ticks all the boxes for a decent historical mystery: set in 12th-century Cambridge, it features a smart female protagonist and a gruesome set of murders. Dr. Adelia is a Salerno-trained medical authority who is a medieval version of a coroner. She's been sent, along with her friend Simon and bodyguard Mansur, to investigate a series of child murders being blamed on Jews. This setup basically allows the reader to discover ye olde English countryside along with the characters, as ...more

Like · see review

Sep 15, 2010 Doina rated it liked it

Shelves: british-mystery

This one attracted me because of the plot-I mean, seriously, forensic specialist in the 12th century-how could it not attract me? I took one star off because even though I enjoyed the premise, I did not find it very believable from a historical point of view. Also, another pet peeve of mine, I hate it, and I do mean HATE it when the author mixes romance with mystery. Not that I'm such a stickler for mystery that I cannot read a book that will mix mystery with any other genre, but in this case I ...more

Like · see review

Sep 11, 2012 Windy rated it really liked it

Mystorical fiction set in 12th century Cambridge. An unlikely premise but still a well written story. Quite dark in places but lifted with some comic relief, especially from Gyltha/Ulf/Safeguard. Some of the more frantic scenes were hard to follow with so much "writing" going on but a very entertaining and satisfying book overall. ...more

Like · see review

Jul 02, 2008 Jessica rated it liked it

Shelves: historical, england

The first couple chapters are could stand some polishing, but once the story gets going Franklin pulls together a solid historical yarn. I appreciate the less sentimentalized view of England under Henry II, but there a tension with the attendant anachronisms that's not entirely resolved. Still, a worthwhile effort for fans of Forensic Files with a historical bent. ...more

Like · see review