This book was fantastic from cover to cover. It's the Medieval times murder mystery. When four children are murdered it prompts an investigation in the town of Cambridge and the Jews are being accused of child sacrifice. They are killed in a pretty gruesome way but it wasn't described in such a way that it turned me off at all. The primary character, Adelia, is a coroner whose CSI Forensic methods are unheard of in Medieval Cambridge. There is a great cast of supporting characters and light overtones of a fun, but unlikely, romance. The deeper the story evolved the more suspects I developed and I had one character I immediately suspected, but then dismissed, then sort of suspected him again, then dismissed him again. The suspense was great.
The mystery, the research, the intrigue and the suspense all created and exceptionally well-written novel. It was beautifully and wonderfully told and it was so much fun. I couldn't wait to read it every night to try and figure out just who exactly the murderer was, what his (or her? ;) motivations were and how they were going to bust the case wide open. The ending of the book, the church, the case, the conclusion it all left me stunned and wanting another book from Ariana Franklin. Very, very well done!
