Where I Liked Some Things More Than Others

The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's good, but annoying. 4 stars.

I find this whole series entertaining, for reasons I can't clarify in my own mind, and I'd almost give this book a 5 for that, but I'm frustrated by some things and it lowers my estimation of the book overall.

Mostly, it succeeds. We're in the 1400's in England, and Adelia is an educated woman--a kind of doctor, though more like a coroner or a forensic scientist--who serves the king by solving important mysteries. The setting is used well in this and the other books in the series, with a clear indication of deep research by the author. There's lots of good action, from sleuthing and fighting to passionate love scenes and man-versus-nature battles through dangerous landscapes--though we do sometimes slow down more than is really fun. Overall, though, it's about as thoroughly entertaining as genre fiction can be.

As a mystery, it's a bit disappointing, because most of the work is done in tiny obscure passages that only pay off at the very end. There's very little collecting of clues, really just hints of it, as if the author wants to keep the facts of the crimes a secret until the end, à la Sherlock Holmes (who is also fun and also annoying). Too much of the time, our main characters are kept powerless, useless to achieve anything, pushed around by circumstance--locked up, tied up, watched, trapped--so that they are inactive and passive for long parts of the book. Don't love that.

And Adelia is frustrating, making herself almost always disagreeable, being argumentative and insulting and rude with everyone on almost every page, including the people she likes as well as people she needs favors from. She's honorable and highly moral, doing good work, but she is so disagreeable that I find her a drag to hang out with.

So I like the books and the story pretty well, but I wish the main character's crankiness was turned down by about a half and her affability at least occasionally turned up a little. But that's just my opinion. Others may find her perfectly pleasant, and that would be fine. In any case, most mystery readers should enjoy the series and this book.

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A Dark Mystery in a Dark Time

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very entertaining book and series. I've been reading it all out of order--you find what you find at used book stores--but that doesn't affect it much. The stories all work on their own.

This is the first, and yet it feels like there was another book before this where the characters were born. (Seems like there was more than just back-story behind this, as if there's a missing first book in the series didn't catch on. I don't know. Doesn't really matter.) In any case, the main character and her friends--she's a doctor from Salerno, working with a Jewish doctor and a Muslim man--set out for England to solve a long series of murders that are being blamed on the Jewish population of Cambridge.

This is the 1100's. None of them are well-received in England, but especially not a woman trying to practice medicine. Not done. So they have to pretend that Adelia is an assistant to the men, although she is the one with all the crucial skills to solve such cases.

The mystery here is compelling and horrifying, not to mention scary and disturbing and horrible, and the plotting is strong. Also, the world it's placed in, the world of 12th Century England under the much-maligned King Henry II (who is a great character here), is vividly recreated. (I just realized there's a map in the front that I really could have been using all along. Sheesh.) Good mystery, good history, good characters--there's a lot to like. And while I like the main character and appreciate what she brings to the story, I find her hard to really like. I'm not sure why. She just always seems a contrarian who makes it hard for anyone to talk to her. If there's any sweetness in Adelia, it isn't clear on the page. I can't figure out quite what the author is going for with her, but it may be a cultural difference between us that makes it hard for me to connect.

But I like the book and I'm cheering for the main character, even if I'd never want to chat with her in real life. If you want someone to catch your murderer, though, she's a good choice.

Recommended.

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Where It Might be King Arthur

Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed reading this and found lots to like, and though I have some issues, I have to give it a 4 star rating. 4 with an asterisk.

This is the second book I've read in this series--out of order--and since I only kinda liked the other one I put off starting this one for a long time. I liked the mystery and pacing of this one better, though I still don't really like the main character. I keep trying to figure out why; she's just the kind of investigator I usually love.

[I wrote a very positive review of that book at the time. It's strange, because it's not how the story sits in my memory. I can't explain beyond recognizing that literature is complex, and we can both like and dislike a book at the same time.]

There are several mysteries layered here, and they're all interesting to me. One is to identify a pair of bodies found after an earthquake in Glastonbury that locals think are actually Arthur and Guinevere. Another mystery is to determine who started the fire that destroyed the abbey, as some poor men (who claim had nothing to do with it) are being blamed. Additionally, Adelia's friend has gone missing on the road and may be dead. And lastly, some other remains and artifacts are discovered which may actually touch on the Arthur legends.

Lots to do.

Adelia works with an Arab man who pretends to be the doctor that she actually is, and she travels with her daughter and a servant. She's independent and educated and driven to solve questions surrounding murders and deaths by accident. That's awesome. I find her hard to take, though, and (this is the asterisk part I mentioned above) it seems like she's grouchy and rude and difficult when there's no reason for it. I like that attitude fine when she's dealing with rotten people, but even when the people are reasonable, friendly, and decent, and she wants help or information from them, she is abrasive and short and demanding. (I can't figure out if the author means for us to read her this way, perhaps to make her more complex and real, or if this is just how the author is?) It gives me second-hand embarrassment the whole way through. She seldom shows gratitude when she gets help or says thank you; she's just as likely to expect further assistance, and demand it, but still not in a nice way.

I dunno. I like her role and biographical details some of the things she represents, but I don't like her, and it makes it harder to like the stories she's in. Even though the book was pretty entertaining, with a good plot, a good mystery, and making great use of historical details, Adelia is off-putting to me--like the Eastern European woman my wife and I pass on the sidewalk almost every morning while we're walking the dog, who only frowns at us when we say good morning to her, even after years of bumping into her over and over and over. (It's a campaign now. I won't be deterred.) : ) A little kindness, a little friendliness goes a long way....

Anyway, I liked the book. Others would probably like it, too. I have a third title from the series already on hand, and I'm debating whether I'll read it or trade it in. I have other series where I can cheer on the MC with greater pleasure. I just keep hoping I'll figure her out.

We'll see.

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