Author:Ariana Franklin,Diana Bishop
Since solving a particularly nasty case of child murder using her forensic skills, Adelia Aguilar is deemed too valuable to send back to the School of Medicine in Salerno. Instead, King Henry II has decided to keep her in England. This is bad news for Adelia - in twelfth-century England women doctors are regarded with great suspicion. So, with her illegitimate child, Adelia is forced to live and practise in the secrecy of Cambridgeshire's fenland.
But at Henry's court, terrible things are happening. Queen Eleanor is not only stirring up revolt against her husband, but rumour has it that she has also poisoned the King's favourite mistress, Rosamund Clifford.
In a race against time to prove Eleanor's innocence, Adelia is recruited to help. It isn't easy. An assassin is at large and so is Queen Eleanor with an army of supporters. Adelia has never faced greater danger. The armies that might cause civil war lie behind her. The icy winds of a dreadful winter blow around her. And ahead she must brave the thorns of the impenetrable labyrinth that surrounds Fair Rosamund's tower, and decipher the mystery of the dead woman who lies frozen within.
Highly entertaining... Franklin is an adept storyteller who disseminates her research into the period with clarity and lightness of touch.
—— The TimesFranklin is one of the very best creators of medieval whodunits writing today. The snow falls, the death toll mounts... and the Thames freezes over in this wonderfully atmospheric, fast-paced and intelligent recreation of a vanished world.
—— GuardianCaptivating... this excellent adventure delivers high drama.
—— The New York TimesIt's as original as its prize-winning predecessor: a real treat.
—— Literary ReviewMesmerizing... A colourful cast of characters, both good and evil, enhance a tale that will keep readers on edge until the final page.
—— Publishers WeeklyAccomplished and engrossing.
—— Good Book Guide'A highly entertaining whodunnit...Franklin is an adept storyteller who disseminates her research into the period with clarity and lightness of touch'
—— THE TIMESSeamlessly weaving real and fictitious characters with vivid descriptions of medieval life from limb-amputation to ice-skating, The Death Maze is a rich banquet of a book.
—— GUARDIANCaptivating...this excellent adventure delivers high drama.
—— NEW YORK TIMESMesmerizing...A colourful cast of characters, both good and evil, enhance a tale that will keep readers on edge until the final page.
—— PUBLISHERS WEEKLYThis is history as it ought to have been.
—— The SpectatorAgainst the well-researched background of intrigue and rebellion we are plunged into the uncertain 12th century, in this accomplished and engrossing historical mystery.
—— Good Book GuideThe deserved winner of this year's Ellis Peters Historical Dagger is a cunningly plotted tale set in medieval Cambridge. A serial killer is at large, and the Jews are blamed. Henry I offers protection because he needs the money. He sends a medical examiner - a master of the art of death - to find the killer. Great stuff
—— THE OBSERVERGruesome and compelling
—— Evening StandardNorwegian star Jo Nesbo has obliterated most of his Scandinavian rivals in the bestseller stakes, with The Leopard published in paperback this week... The uncrowned king of Norwegian crime fiction is Jo Nesbo. Books such as The Redbreast (2000) and his imposing novel The Snowman have propelled Nesbo to the heights. Apart from its narrative finesse, his work also provides a coolly objective guide to fluctuations in Norwegian society. There is also a universal feeling that his work is more strikingly individual than that of most of his Scandinavian colleagues... Harry is a lone wolf, a chronic alcoholic separated from his wife and child but in touch with the zeitgeist of his country. And Nesbo gives us a sharp picture of Norwegian society in flux, crammed with relevant detail - as you might expect from an ex-freelance journalist, particularly where the role of the media is described
—— Barry Forshaw , IndependentNesbo has a skill for dispatching his victims with increasing inventiveness, and he barely lets you draw breath before delivering a virtuoso torture and death scene in the opening chapter
—— ShortlistThe plot is intriguing, and Nesbo's writing is as taught as ever
—— Sunday TimesIt's fascinating to discover, from the incident details, what it is like to live for much of the time in a world under snow... Nesbo writes beautifully
—— Jessica Mann , Literary ReviewThere are passages [which are] so anatomically gruesome...that they can only be properly read through the gaps between protecting fingers
—— ProspectNorwegian star Jo Nesbo has obliterated most of his Scandinavian rivals in the bestseller stakes, with The Leopard published in paperback this week...The uncrowned king of Norwegian crime fiction is Jo Nesbo. Books such as The Redbreast (2000) and his imposing novel The Snowman have propelled Nesbo to the heights. Apart from its narrative finesse, his work also provides a coolly objective guide to fluctuations in Norwegian society. There is also a universal feeling that his work is more strikingly individual than that of most of his Scandinavian colleagues...Harry is a lone wolf, a chronic alcoholic separated from his wife and child but in touch with the zeitgeist of his country. And Nesbo gives us a sharp picture of Norwegian society in flux, crammed with relevant detail - as you might expect from an ex - freelance journalist, particularly where the role of the media is described
—— Independent