I am a committed fan of Ariana Franklin’s Mistress of the Art of Death tales. The third book in the series, Grave Goods, finds Adelia Aguilar, medica of Salerno and the English King Henry II’s unofficial medical examiner (or “mistress of the art of death”), sent to Glastonbury to examine two mysterious skeletons which may or may not be the remains of Arthur and Guinevere. (There is fascinating historical background for this, which of course I had to research further after reading the book—one of the great pleasures of historical fiction.)
Franklin’s wry humor intertwines with mysterious monks, suspicious inn-keepers, vanishing traveling parties, terrifying (and sometimes quirkily sympathetic) forest outlaws, walled-up crypts on Glastonbury Tor, sealed secret passages, brooding marshes, and of course the forensic mystery of the skeletons—who are they? How did they come to be buried as they were?
I loved this book, as I loved the first two in the series. I wish, however, that Franklin had not added the very last paragraph. I won’t give away the content of the paragraph or even go into detail about why it jarred me so, but I would be very interested to hear other reactions!
The Second Duchess
Read the First Chapter
The Second Duchess is available on iBookstore!
