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Product Description
Product Description
The thrilling fourth instalment of the Mistress of the Art of Death series.
In 1176, King Henry II sends his ten-year-old daughter, Joanna, to Palermo to marry William II of Sicily. War on the Continent and outbreaks of plague make it an especially dangerous journey, so the king selects as his daughter's companion the woman he trusts most: Adelia Aguilar, his mistress of the art of death.
As a medical doctor and native of Sicily, Adelia is to travel with the princess and safeguard her health until the wedding. Accompanying her on the journey are her Arab companion, Mansur, her lover, Rowley, and an unusual newcomer: the Irish sea captain O'Donnell. But another man has joined the procession— a murderer bent on the worst kind of revenge. When people in the princess's household begin to die, Adelia and Rowley suspect that the killer is hiding in plain sight. Is his intended victim the princess ... or Adelia herself?
--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.About the Author
Ariana Franklin was born in Devon and at twenty became the youngest reporter then on Fleet Street. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Mistress of the Art of Death, The Death Maze and Relics of the Dead, all featuring anatomist Adelia Aguilar.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite as good as her previous novels...,
By
This review is from: Murderous Procession: A Mistress of the Art of Death Novel (Paperback)
"A Murderous Procession" is Ariana Franklin's fourth novel in her Adelia Aguliar series. Franklin is the pseudonym of British author Diana Norman, and she has also published one stand-alone novel as Franklin, set in Berlin in 1922."Procession", like its three preceding novels, is the story of Adelia Agular, a Sicilian-trained doctor who had come to England during the reign of Henry II to help solve a crime and then had basically been held - loosely - by Henry, unable to return to her home in Sicily. She falls in love with a warrior/churchman and bears a daughter out of wedlock. During her eight year forced stay in England, she has preformed many tasks for Henry and his court and solved crimes using the forensic methods she was taught in Sicily. In addition to her daughter, Allie, she lives with a Saracen, who had originally accompanied her from Sicily, pretending to be the doctor of the duo, and she merely the "interpreter" of his medical methods, as well as several English companions who make up her household. In this book, Adelia is "requested" by Henry to accompany his daughter Joanna on a long, arduous trip over land and by sea to Sicily, where the child of ten is to be married to William, king of Sicily. To make sure Adelia makes the trip and then returns to England, Henry holds her daughter in a benign captivity. Among others in the hundred-person procession are Rowley, her lover, and various other nobles and workers, including an elusive personality who has sworn to murder Adelia in the foulest way he can think of. He remains so elusive that his identity is not revealed til the end. As the reader soon learns, life in a medieval procession bears resemblance to a traveling village. With so many personalities in the procession, jealousies, crimes, and personal perversions soon reveal themselves. Deaths begin to happen; deaths both natural and murderous, and Adelia is called into both healing the sick and solving crimes. The book, however, has a slightly frenetic feel to it. Too many characters and too many crimes and too many locations on the long road between London and Sicily make this book feel "cluttered". It's a good read, but it just isn't as good as its predecessors. If you've read and enjoyed the three previous novels, I'm sure you'll like this one. I just can't quite recommend it as a first Adelia-novel.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
4.5 Stars - Only the ending kept it from being 5 Stars,
By
This review is from: A Murderous Procession (Hardcover)
First Sentence: Between the parishes of Shepfold and Martlake in Somerset existed an area of no-man's-land and a lot of ill feeling.Dr. Adelia Aguilar is thrilled to learn Henry II wants to send her to accompany his daughter Joanna's wedding procession to her home of Sicily. Her feelings change to anger when she learns Henry is keeping Adelia's daughter in England to ensure Adelia's return. With them, and well concealed, will be Arthur's sword, Excalibur, as a gift to the bridegroom. Danger a rises from an old foe out to steal the sword and looking for revenge against Adelia. There was a different feel to this book than those previous. Whereas before, Adelia seemed very much in control and strong, here she was in situations completely beyond her control and, at times, in great peril. While some readers might not care the change this wrought in the character, I liked that it showed her vulnerability and weaknesses, as well as the human failing that when the truth is too frightening to accept, it is denied. There is a progression in the lives of the characters with each book, which is important to me. Some readers have criticized the coup de foudre felt by the O'Donnell for Ariana. Having personally experienced it, although it didn't last, I didn't find it unrealistic. I did enjoy that we meet Adelia's parents in this book. As always with Franklin's book, I learn so much history. Henry's daughter, Joan, was known to me, but not in any detail nor her role in history. Of late, I've read more books that deal with the Cathers, and I find them fascinating. I certainly knew nothing of the history of Sicily and found it significant that she shows it to us at a turning point in its history. Perhaps I'm obtuse, but I did not figure out the identity taken by the villain until it was revealed. What I did not like, was the ending. It seems more authors are doing cliff-hanger endings and it's a trend I dearly hope will end almost immediately. Write a good book, I promise to read the next one without being tricked into so doing. I very much enjoyed the story and only the ending prevented my rating it as "excellent." For readers new to the series, I recommend starting at the beginning. For me, I am ready for the next book. A MURDEROUS PROCESSION (The Assassin's Prayer) (Hist. Mys-Adelia Aguilar-England/France/Italy-Middle Ages/1179) - VG+ Franklin, Ariana - 4th in series G.P. Putnam's Sons, ©2010, US Hardcover - ISBN: 9780399156281
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent!,
By
This review is from: Murderous Procession: A Mistress of the Art of Death Novel (Paperback)
I think this is the best book yet. Each novel just gets better and better!
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