SummaryAriana Franklin combines the best of modern forensic
thrillers with the drama of historical fiction in the
enthralling second novel in the Mistress of the Art of Death
series, featuring medieval heroine Adelia Aguilar.
Rosamund Clifford, the mistress of King Henry II, has died
an agonizing death by poison—and the king's estranged
queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, is the prime suspect. Henry
suspects that Rosamund's murder is probably the first move
in Eleanor's long-simmering plot to overthrow him. If
Eleanor is guilty, the result could be civil war. The king
must once again summon Adelia Aguilar, mistress of the art
of death, to uncover the truth.
Adelia is not happy to be called out of retirement. She has
been living contentedly in the countryside, caring for her
infant daughter, Allie. But Henry's summons cannot be
ignored, and Adelia must again join forces with the king's
trusted fixer, Rowley Picot, the Bishop of St. Albans, who
is also her baby's father.
Adelia and Rowley travel to the murdered courtesan's home,
in a tower within a walled labyrinth—a strange and
sinister place from the outside, but far more so on the
inside, where a bizarre and gruesome discovery awaits them.
But Adelia's investigation is cut short by the appearance of
Rosamund's rival: Queen Eleanor. Adelia, Rowley, and the
other members of her small party are taken captive by
Eleanor's henchmen and held in the nunnery of Godstow, where
Eleanor is holed up for the winter with her band of
mercenaries, awaiting the right moment to launch their
rebellion.
Isolated and trapped inside the nunnery by the snow and
cold, Adelia and Rowley watch as dead bodies begin piling
up. Adelia knows that there may be more than one killer at
work, and she must unveil their true identities before
England is once again plunged into civil war. . .
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