Mistress of the Art of Death

, #1

eBook, 304 pages

English language

Published Dec. 31, 2006 by Bantam Books.

ISBN:
978-0-14--3
Copied ISBN!
(11 reviews)

A chilling, mesmerizing novel that combines the best of modern forensic thrillers with the detail and drama of historical fiction.

In medieval Cambridge, England, four children have been murdered. The crimes are immediately blamed on the town's Jewish community, taken as evidence that Jews sacrifice Christian children in blasphemous ceremonies. To save them from the rioting mob, the king places the Cambridge Jews under his protection and hides them in a castle fortress. King Henry I is no friend of the Jews-or anyone, really-but he is invested in their fate. Without the taxes received from Jewish merchants, his treasuries would go bankrupt. Hoping scientific investigation will exonerate the Jews, Henry calls on his cousin the King of Sicily-whose subjects include the best medical experts in Europe-and asks for his finest "master of the art of death," an early version of the medical examiner. The Italian doctor chosen for the task …

13 editions

Review of 'Mistress of the art of death' on 'Goodreads'

I gave this four stars for being one of those books that you cannot put down, and that reminds me of how fun it was to read when I was a teenager and did not care so much if a book was an award winner or would add to my repertoire of classic literature. It is genre fiction (mystery) but the writing is good, the plot relentless and the heroine a wonderful doctor atheist feminist who falls for a guy who is described at one point as looking like a fat strutting robin. If you can get over the anachronisms then you are all set for a totally kick ass mystery.

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Subjects

  • Henry in fiction
  • Women forensic pathologists in fiction
  • Detective and mystery stories
  • Fiction
  • Suspense fiction
  • Historical fiction
  • Women forensic pathologists
  • Adelia Aguilar (Fictitious character)
  • Large type books
  • Murder
  • Adelia Aguilar (Fictional character)
  • Crimes
  • Women physicians
  • Investigation
  • Antisemitism
  • Middle Ages
  • Physicians, fiction
  • Jews, fiction
  • Great britain, fiction
  • Fiction, mystery & detective, general
  • Fiction, crime