Book 5 in the Mistress of the Art of Death series.
I loved this series by Ariana Franklin (pseudonym of Diana Norman) and was rather excited when I stumbled upon this fifth instalment written by Samantha Norman. The series is set in 12th century England, during the reign of Henry of Anjou, and follows the so-called mistress of the art of death Adelia Aguilar who trained as a doctor in Salerno, Italy, the centre of medieval medicine in Europe. Adelia is brought to England to assist in finding the murderer of a child in Cambridge.
Adelia falls in love with Sir Roland (Rowley) Picot and eventually falls pregnant during their life-long relationship. Rowley asks her to marry him, but Adelia doesn’t want to marry. Soon after Rowley is made the Bishop of Saint Albans by King Henry.
Franklin wrote 4 books in this series between 2007 and her untimely death in 2011. In the 5th book, her daughter Samantha takes over.
This one is mostly about Adelia and Rowley’s daughter, Almeison Picot, or Allie as people call her, who is almost twenty. King Henry has died and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine is regent while her and Henry’s son King Richard is on a Crusade and she’s currently in Normandy in this book. Eleanor is looking for an influential match for Allie.
Because Adelia has hurt her ankle, Allie goes back to the Fens with Lady Penda, Gyltha’s sister. Gyltha used to be the housekeeper for Adelia and Allie, and she’s gravely ill according to Lady Penda. Allie has been trained in the art of medicine, and death, by her mother Adelia who retired.
Gyltha seems a little better when Lady Penda and Allie get to her home, Elsford, and is terribly upset that Allie has come to the Fens for her. Two girls have gone missing, and one has been found dead. Then the second girl is found dead as well, and Allie examines the remains in secret, with the help of Gyltha’s grandson Ulf.
While out one day with Lady Penda, she runs into Lord Peverell. Peverell’s horse has a thorn in her foot and Allie tends to the horse Matilda. After this she sees more of him, and Lady Penda seems hellbent on marrying her off to Lord Peverell. He seems to enjoy her company but his secretary Sir William doesn’t really warm to her.
During her stay at Elsford, Allie strikes up a friendship with Ulf’s daughter Hawise, who is around 15 years old. Then, a third girl goes missing, and it’s Hawise.
This book was a lovely continuation to the series, and I read it within a few hours. I just couldn’t put it down, and that happened with the previous books as well. Norman emulates her mother’s style, and I am hoping she’ll write another sequel!
Read for the ShelfReflection Reading Challenge 2025.
Prompt 8: A book by an author whose last name is also a first name
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
