Death and the maiden

Norman and coauthor Franklin deliver the final entry in their Mistress of the Art of Death series set in the English Fens in the twelfth century. Adelia is a gifted local healer and physician. Her daughter, Allie, is determined to follow in her footsteps and is already a promising healer herself. But her parents' priority is for her to wed. When Adelia is called to Ely to nurse her old friend Lady Gyltha, she agrees to go but then breaks her ankle. Allie begs to go instead, and Lady Penda, Gyltha's sister, promises that she will find a husband for Allie if the girl is allowed to stand in for her mother. In fact, Penda already has a candidate in mind: the rich, handsome Lord Peverill. Penda also promises to keep Allie safe, given that several girls have disappeared recently, turning up dead weeks later. Once in Ely, Allie befriends Hawise, a local girl, and, as planned, falls for Lord Peverill. But when Hawise disappears, Allie vows to find her friend before Hawise suffers the same fate as the other missing girls. This is a fascinating, page-turning historical mystery, with dashes of twelfth-century politics and religion, intriguing period ambience, charismatic characters, and a completely unexpected ending. Highly recommended.