Audio Book Description:
In medieval Cambridge, four children have been murdered. TheCatholic townsfolk blametheir Jewish neighbors, so to save them from therioting mob, the Cambridge Jewsare placed under the protection of the king.Henry II is no friend of the Jews-or anyone,really-but he believes in lawand order, and he desperately needs the taxes he receives from Jewish merchants.Hoping scientific investigation will help catch the true killer, Henry callson his cousin, the King of Sicily-whose subjects include the best medical experts in Europe-and asks for his finest "master of the are of death," theearliest form of medical examiner. The Italian doctor chosen for the task is a young prodigy from the University of Salerno, an expert in the science ofanatomy and the art of detection. But her name is Adelia; theking has been sent a "mistress of the art of death." In a backward and superstitious countrylike England, Adelia faces danger at every turn. As she examines the victims and retraces their last steps, she must concealher true identity in order toavoid accusations of witchcraft. Along the way, she`s assistedby one of the king`s tax collectors, Sir Rowley Picot,a man with a personal stake in theinvestigation. A former Crusader Knight,Rowley may be a needed friend-or the fiend for whom they are searching. As Adelia`s investigation takes her alongCambridge`s shadowy river paths, and behind the closed doorsof its churches and nunneries, the hunt intensifies and the killer prepares to strike again...
