I read this book immediately after reading the first book in the series, Mistress of the Art of Death, and I was disappointed with it. Characters that I liked in the first book, Gyltha and Mansur for example, seemed wooden in The Serpent's Tale. Even the main character, Adelia, seemed to lack the fierce intensity that made her so interesting in Mistress of the Art of Death. The historical details were interesting, but it wasn't enough to make this book what it might have been.

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Part of Arianna Franklin's Adelia Aguilar series of HF, this book is a quick Historical Fiction read. Full of great and accurate period detail, it follows the life of Ms Aguilar, who is a forebear of modern day forensic medicine. Pressed into service by Henry, the story unfolds around several murders, including allegations that Henry's queen, Eleanor of Acquitaine, has murdered Henry's paramour Rosamund the Fair. Ms. Aguilar must trace the threads and clues from the bodies and their surroundings to unravel likely suspects, and then trap them into confessing their misdeeds. A good read, albeit with modern feminist overtones, Franklin is a good new voice in the historical fiction genre.

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The Serpents Tale returns us to 12th century England and all of the plotting and intrigues of Henry II and his estranged wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. Adelia Aguilar, introduced to readers as The Mistress of the Art of Death in the first book in the series, is living a quiet life in the fens when she is once again summoned by the King to employ her skills to learn who has murdered his mistress. Eleanor is the main suspect and in order to avoid a civil war Adelia joins forces with Rowley Picot, now a Bishop, but also Adelias former lover and father of her infant daughter. Taking along her trusted servant Mansur and Gyltha, her friend and nursemaid, Adelia once again uses her knowledge of the sciences to find a murderer.

This book starts out extremely well with the intriguing prologue that lets us know that there is an assassin at work and an extremely clever one at that. The scenes involving the labyrinth where Rosamund Clifford, the Kings mistress, lived and died are creepy and set a very eerie tone to the start of the story, but a lot of that dark suspense is lost when the tale moves onto to the snowbound convent that Adelia and her party are isolated in during a blizzard and where the body count is rapidly rising. This part of the story seemed to drag on a little too long.

A lot of the things that made Mistress such a great read arent present here. The mystery is not as complex, there is not enough of Mansur and there is almost none of the romance between Rowley and Adelia that made the first book so much fun. That said I find Franklins writing very accessible and love all the historical details she provides. I am not a purist when it comes to historical fiction and dont mind some of the liberties taken with historical facts, I do appreciate the notes included by the author at the end, which clarifies some of the liberties taken.

Overall I found this to be an entertaining read and a nice blend of historical fiction and forensic mystery. Im looking forward to book three in the series, Grave Goods.

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A great page-turning historical mystery with strong female characters and a way of making political intrigue fascinating!

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This is a very interesting, complex tale built on character development, and offering a continuation of those fascinating people found in the first book. For someone with fairly high standards for historical mysteries, this one is lovely!

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Serpent's Tale is a good mystery and historical fiction set in the Middle or "Dark" ages (which we still seem to be in at times). Franklin provides visual detail and a plot that moves. Depiction of the real and famous Eleanor is queenly in all respects.

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I have really enjoyed these books, the way they are written puts you into the story so easily that you lose track of all else but reading.
The plot and story are so strong and keep your interest throughout the whole book. Just an excellent series, though can be read independtly.

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This book is a quick and entertaining read. I prefer the first book in this (soon-to-be-trilogy) but I still enjoyed this book very much. My only complaint is that the author spent so much time catching up the reader (for those of them who have not read the first book). I understand that she wants each novel to stand on its own but the re-hashing was corny and onerous.

Other than that single complaint, this is a great piece of historical fiction-- not for those sticklers though who prefer their novels to be as historically accurate as possible. Nonetheless, it's smart, entertaining and I can't wait to read the next one.

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This is not going to be the best review. I read this book because I liked the first one. I also liked the second one but it's been a couple months at least since I've read it. I like the main character and am really glad that I wasn't born in the 12th century. I'm also having to review this in order to add it to my Books I've Read list. I'm so sorry to disappoint you with my review. I'm just being honest.

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A good medieval mysteries read! Adelia and Rowley find themselves in turmoil as they try to solve the murder of Rosamund, a mistress of the king. Eleanor, the queen, is strongly suspected of having arranged the murder. A basket of mushrooms containing the death cap was delivered to the castle when the only person present is a simple servant who accepts it, knowing that Rosamund loves mushrooms. A snowstorm traps the suspects and Rosamund in a convent after Rowley disappears into an icy cold river. Found it difficult to accept that he could survive in such conditions but he does. Meanwhile Adelia and her child Allie are trapped with the murderer or murderers, the queen, soldiers and clergy as resources are strained with the needs of the trapped people. A handsome young man is found murdered, shot with a crossbow, on the bridge to the convent and the simple servant is found hangings from a hook. Not suicide but another murder. When an attempt to burn down the cell where Rosamund's housekeeper is imprisoned, Adelia is sure everyone is in peril. And, her child sleeping in her basket is found outside their room just a few inches from a 20 foot drop. Adelia is so frightened that she wants to return to Italy to keep her child safe. Can she solve the murders without endangering herself and Allie. Only time will tell.

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Second book and it did not disappoint at all. Still a great storyline and wonderful fully developed characters. You will enjoy this mystery. A really great read.

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Excellent read. This is volume two of the story of Vesuvia Adelia Aguilar, a female doctor sent to England to help solve crimes. Being a female doctor in the Middle Ages has it's problems and she is constantly going up against bias against her gender as well as the distrust of science by the church. These books are extremely well written and have great characters. This volume deals with trying to solve who murdered Henry II's mistress. If Adelia can't figure it out, Civil War might break out again with devasting consequences for England. Tough to put this book down.

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