Grave Goods

Franklin, Ariana. Grave Goods.

Another in the series of medieval doctor Adelia Aguilar, Henry II's Mistress of Death. Adelia has solved several murders for Henry (this is the third in the series) and is once again offered little choice but to attempt to verify the bones found at Glastonbury. Purported to be the skeletons of Arthur and Guinevere, the skeletons could help Henry lay to rest the myth Arthur's return.

Adelia, Mansur, Gytha, and Allie find themselves in the middle of more than one mystery during their sojourn in Glastonbury. Henry wants Adelia to find definitive proof concerning the skeletons (difficult, indeed), but Lady Emma (from The Serpent's Tale) and her entourage has also disappeared near Glastonbury, and Adelia is much more concerned about her friend's fate.

As usual, Franklin includes excellent historic detail, creates interesting characters, and includes a little hint of romance when Rowley appears once again.

I especially enjoyed the group of men who made up Useless Eustice's Frank Pledge. Although these characters had little time individually, they had definite personalities and added the best dash of spice to the story.

Henry II's reforms had huge impact on the development of English law, and Franklin always includes details in a manner well-integrated with the story. A towering historic figure (remember Eleanor of Aquitaine & Thomas a'Beckett?), Franklin's Henry incorporates much of what has been said about him historically and still makes him fit seamlessly into her mysteries.

Those who have savored the previous books in this series will appreciate this one as well. The first was the best, but I've enjoyed all of them.

Fiction. Historical Mystery. 2009. 331 pages.