Ooh won an Amazon voucher. :-) Just another wage slave these days, longing for the weekends!
Can...
Ooh won an Amazon voucher. :-) Just another wage slave these days, longing for the weekends!
Can now also be found on dooyoo under the name mogdred.
Member since:17.06.2005
Reviews:35
Members who trust:40
At first I wasn't sure whether to pick up this book, mostly due to its clumsy title - it just seemed a bit clunky. This is in some ways how the plot works out - but it is more interesting than I originally thought it would be.
The book follows the quest of Simon of Naples and his doctor companion Adelia, along with her bodyguard Mansur, as they try to clear the name of the Jews of Cambridge in a spate of child murders.
They have been sent from Salerno by the King of Naples so that the Jews are not expelled from England - the Church would seize on the murders as an excuse to do this. King Henry II doesn't want this to happen as he needs the Jews' money. He is also furious over his subjugation to the Church after the murder of Thomas Becket.
I found the plot quite slow at first and it took some time to grab my interest but by about halfway through it was much better.
The main character is Adelia - "The Mistress of the Art of Death" - i.e a forensic pathologist. Her struggle to conceal her profession is quite prominent in the plot as female doctors were unusual in the twelfth century. She is helping Simon of Naples discover the killer through the clues left on the bodies of the victims. I found this quite interesting although I'm not sure how realistic it would be in the twelfth century.
The plot does wander a bit as it is so concerned with Adelia and her origins and training. The character of Rowley (the King's so-called tax inspector) is ok but the romance seems to have been thrown in as a bit of an afterthought and didn't add anything to the story for me.
Mansur and Gyltha offered some light relief as the servants as did Gyltha's grandson Ulf. Simon of Naples was not as prominent as I expected but was a fairly good character.
I felt that some of the characterisation suffered through the absolute focus on Adelia, who could be quite irritating at times.
The identity of the killer was dragged out a bit towards the end and I did actually guess who he was fairly early on. There is a twist that I suspected but was still quite good when it was revealed.
I thought the character of King Henry II was quite well drawn and was an interesting addition to the denouement.
Overall I enjoyed this book but the second half was much more interesting as there was more action. The plot could be a bit clunky and did rely on coincidences but it was fairly enjoyable. I thought it was a good look at twelfth century England but not necessarily always realistic.
I don't think I would buy this book but it is worth a read from the library.
This review is also on dooyoo under the username mogdred.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Jan 27th, 2009
very helpful by (84%):
helpful by (16%):
