The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin

The Serpent's Tale continues the adventures of Adelia Aguilar which began in Mistress of the Art of Death. Ariana Franklin once again takes us back to 12th century England for a fun murder mystery.

This time around Aguilar is summoned by King Henry II to investigate the death of his mistress, Rosamund Clifford, who died after eating poisoned mushrooms. Blame is falling onto Henry's estranged wife, Queen Eleanor, and this can only lead to war. Adelia is summoned by Rowley Picot, her former lover and current Bishop of St. Albans. Rowley had proposed to her in the previous book and, although she declined, Adelia is still very much in love with him. Plus she had a daughter by him. With her Arab servant Mansur, her friend Glytha, and Glytha's smelly dog Ward, Adelia heads to Godstow Abbey. Along the way more dead bodies appear and it's up to our heroine to expose the killer(s) before Eleanor can incite civil war.

I found the plot of The Serpent's Tale to be just a smidgeon less interesting than that of its predecessor. It's not that it was bad but rather that it was a little slow. Most of the story takes place at Godstow Abbey with another chunk transpiring at Wormhold Tower, a castle where Rosamund was sequestered by Henry and her place of death. In Mistress of the Art of Death action took place all about Cambridgeshire and the surrounding fens. The story here takes place in winter and the characters are snowbound. Inducing claustrophobia like this isn't a bad thing in and of itself but I think Franklin missed an opportunity here. Adelia spends much too much time cloistered in a room cursing various people and lamenting her impotence instead of going out and sleuthing.

On the other hand, The Serpent's Tale benefits by having a much richer protagonist. Adelia is now a mother and all love and worry she has for her daughter adds a new cautious dimension to character. Her love of Rowley induces an even more profound ambivalence within her. She can't help but alternately love and curse him. He is now a bishop and his ties to England's politics, something Adelia very much loathes, are even knottier than before. Plus she is also ambivalent about being forced to remain in England. On the one hand, she longs to return home where attitudes towards women are more enlightened. But, on the other, she has taken a liking to Henry's realm and carved out a life there.

Mansur is a bit underused here but Glytha's homespun aphorisms are in full force. There is a rather interesting conversation between Adelia and Mother Edyve in which the latter espouses her hope that the new-fangled courtly love will be a precursor to English society changing its attitude towards women for the better. Adelia wants the attitude changed now whereas Mother Edyve understands that such changes are slow. It makes a nice contrast to every other conversation on this topic which have always involved Adelia arguing with a man who does not share her opinion.

Despite a plot that drags a bit at spots, The Serpent's Tale was a pleasure to read and features a wonderful heroine who has only grown more complex and more interesting. Now I need to get my hands on the third book in the series.