September 1, 2014
Though she wrote fiction under her own name, Diana Norman, Franklin won everyone's attention (and a clutch of Crime Writers' Association daggers) for her series featuring medieval medical examiner Adelia Aguilar. This work, completed after Franklin's death by her writer/critic daughter, returns to 12th-century England but has no Adelia in sight. As King Stephen and the Empress Matilda play tug-of-war with the crown, peasant girl Emma is abducted by a crazed monk and left for dead, then rescued by archer-for-hire Gwyl. Soon, Emma is dressed as a boy and serving as an apprentice to Gwyl. But what about that monk?
Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2015
Franklin's final novel, skillfully completed by her daughter after her death, recounts two young women's courage during a dark, chaotic era. As civil war devastates midtwelfth century England, Maud, the 16-year-old chatelaine of Kenniford, weds a boorish older man to save her people. Raped and discarded, Em, a peasant girl from the Cambridgeshire fens, is rescued by an aging mercenary and becomes an expert archer under his tutelage. Their stories converge as Matilda, the previous king's heir, escapes her rival, King Stephen, and seeks shelter at Kenniford. The event-filled plotline includes themes of vengeance and coming-of-age, a hint of romance, and a mystery about a piece of parchment that Em's attacker will kill to repossess. Her slow recovery from emotional trauma is especially touching. The cheeky wit and precise descriptions that were Franklin's hallmarks are as sharp as ever, and the major characters are delightfully human. The book also has a genuine feel for medieval life and times. This unique collaboration is a worthy conclusion to one remarkable career and a promising beginning to another.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2015
Norman ably fills the hole in historical fiction left by the death of her late mother, Franklin ("Mistress of the Art of Death" series), by bringing the author's final manuscript to fruition with aplomb. During the Anarchy, the 12th-century civil war of succession between King Stephen and Empress Matilda over the English throne, a young girl falls victim to a roving horde of mercenaries led by a degenerate monk. Left for dead, she is rescued by a lone archer who teaches her to shoot and dresses her as a boy for protection. As they travel the countryside seeking justice, they find themselves at the heart of the war in which both their futures and that of the country are at stake. VERDICT The rigidity of status in feudal society rightly permeates every scene, but Norman and Franklin excel at showing how the war impacts everyone in this richly researched, female-driven historical mystery. [See Prepub Alert, 8/11/14.]--Liza Oldham, Beverly, MA
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.