The fourth book in Franklin's "Mistress in the Art of Death" series finds medieval pathologist Adelia Aguilar enjoying a quiet domestic life in a small village in England, surrounded by her daughter, her lover, Rowley, the Archbishop of Albon, her friend Mansur, a Moor, and various others she has picked up on the way. Her domesticity is shattered when Henry II, who originally requested her services from Palermo and now refuses to give her a passport to leave England, asks, or rather commands, her to accompany his ten year old daughter Joanna to Sicily for her wedding with William II. Adelia is thrilled to be going back home until Henry informs her that he will be "safekeeping" her daughter with his queen consort Eleanor, currently under house arrest (albeit quite a splendid house). Henry, you see, does not want to lose his female pathologist. Adelia reluctantly sets out on the journey, accompanied by Rowley, who wants Adelia out of England because someone, unknown to her, has been trying to kill her. The journey turns perilous for all involved when Adelia's would-be killer joins the large traveling party and people start to die.
Franklin is a master at weaving historical fact into her narratives, and includes a section of author's notes at the end explaining the historical context of the novel. Palermo in the twelfth century did accept females as students, and it was famous for its work in anatomy and pathology. Similarly, other events and people scattered throughout the book are based in historical fact and woven into the fabric of the novel. I would suggest that if you haven't read the other novels in the series that you do not start with this one, but rather with the first, Mistress of the Art of Death. Franklin leaves us this time on a cliffhanger, so here's hoping the next book comes soon!
Showing posts with label asprochi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asprochi. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The Devil's Bones: a Body Farm Novel / Jefferson Bass (320 p.)
The Devil's Bones is the third book in Jefferson Bass' Body Farm series. Jefferson Bass is the writing team of journalist Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass, forensic anthropologist and founder of Tennessee's world famous Body Farm, a forensic "lab" where donated bodies are left in the open to study what happens when bodies decompose under varying conditions. In this third novel, the protagonist, Dr. Bill Brockton, is involved in two forensic cases: one, in which Mary Latham, a well-liked local Knoxville woman, is found burned to death in her car; and another involving a disreputable Georgia crematorium. Also returning is Dr. Brockton's arch nemesis, Garland Hamilton, who killed Brockton's lover and tried to frame him for the murder. Up for trial, he escapes and carnage ensues as he plots his revenge.
I always enjoy Bass' books, due to the detail of the forensic anthropology and the realistic depiction of the capabilities of forensic science. The science is always spot on and I learn something new every time I read one of his books. His character, Dr. Brockton, is engaging and human, not a superman but a smart, normal professor with an unorthodox profession. That being said, I found the revenge plot with Hamilton a little tedious, and easily the least intriguing part of the book. I would have much preferred he stick to the cases and the forensics. I should also say that these books are not for the squeamish--I wouldn't recommend them to people who don't like discussing dismembered body parts, maggot-riddled corpses, or bodies exploding in the sun. However, if, like me, you find that stuff fascinating you'll like this series of books.
I always enjoy Bass' books, due to the detail of the forensic anthropology and the realistic depiction of the capabilities of forensic science. The science is always spot on and I learn something new every time I read one of his books. His character, Dr. Brockton, is engaging and human, not a superman but a smart, normal professor with an unorthodox profession. That being said, I found the revenge plot with Hamilton a little tedious, and easily the least intriguing part of the book. I would have much preferred he stick to the cases and the forensics. I should also say that these books are not for the squeamish--I wouldn't recommend them to people who don't like discussing dismembered body parts, maggot-riddled corpses, or bodies exploding in the sun. However, if, like me, you find that stuff fascinating you'll like this series of books.
In the Shadow of Gotham / Stefanie Pintoff (400 p.)
Reminiscent of The Alienist, Stefanie Pintoff's debut novel features Det. Simon Ziele, formerly of the New York City police, who has moved to a small town in Westchester County after the death of his finacee in a tragic ferry accident. It is 1904. Ziele is pulled back to Manhattan whenthe brutal murder of a brilliant young female mathematics student in his sleepy town leads to the patient of a controversial criminologist and psychologist, Alastair Sinclair, a professor at Columbia University. Sarah Wingate's murder closely resembles the deranged fantasies of a man Sinclair has been studying, and who is now missing. Ziele, with the help of Sinclair and Sinclair's widowed daughter-in-law Isabella, weaves through turn of the century New York City, its back streets, brothels, rich and poor, powerful and not, trying to find the killer and bring him to justice.
The book was enjoyable read with a few quibbles; I found some of the exposition to be a bit obvious, as when Ziele launches into the history of the use of fingerprints, and found an occasional off-key note when language or situations seemed more modern than authentic for the time period (did they really have trash cans on the street in NYC in 1904?) It was also fairly easy to spot the killer half way through the book, even if, like me, you don't necessarily read mysteries to try to figure them out. However, the characters were interesting, with great potential for future stories, and Pintoff's knowledge of NYC at the turn of the century brings the city to life on the page.
The book was enjoyable read with a few quibbles; I found some of the exposition to be a bit obvious, as when Ziele launches into the history of the use of fingerprints, and found an occasional off-key note when language or situations seemed more modern than authentic for the time period (did they really have trash cans on the street in NYC in 1904?) It was also fairly easy to spot the killer half way through the book, even if, like me, you don't necessarily read mysteries to try to figure them out. However, the characters were interesting, with great potential for future stories, and Pintoff's knowledge of NYC at the turn of the century brings the city to life on the page.
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