THE SERPENT'S TALE, by Ariana Franklin

3/series, Mistress of the Art of Death. When Rosamund Clifford, long-time mistress to England's Henry II dies, the king orders Adelia Aguilar to investigate, bringing him proof of who murdered the woman he called "Rosa Mundi". If Henry's queen, Eleanor of Aquitane, is guilty, it could mean civil war. With her infant daughter, her manservant Mansur and her daughter's nurse Gyltha, Adelia slogs through the winter's chill to Rosamund's maze-guarded tower. Click below for more...
Her investigation is curtailed by the arrival of the queen, just escaped from her French prison, and prepared to fight her husband on behalf of her son. As one of the cruelest winters in Britain's history increases its grip, Adelia and the queen and their entourages are captive in a remote nunnery, where a subtle and skilful murderer awaits. It's a 5, a gripping series that rewards with not only accurate (mostly) historical portrayals but deeply-drawn fictional characters enmeshed in the machinations of ruthlessly ambitious  nobility.
The author does not have a website.
For no-spoiler book reviews in all genres, visit www.nuts4books.com

Comments