A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin
Cover Description: In 1176, King Henry II sends his ten-year-old daughter, Joanna, to Palermo to marry William II of Sicily. War on the continent and outbreaks of plague make it an especially dangerous journey, so the king selects as his daughter's companion the woman he trusts most: Adelia Aguilar, his mistress of the art of death. As a medical doctor and a native of Sicily, it will be Adelia's job to travel with the princess and safeguard her health until the wedding.
Adelia wants to refuse-accompanying the royal procession means leaving behind her nine-year-old daughter. Unfortunately, Henry has arranged for the girl to live at court, both as a royal ward and as a hostage to ensure that Adelia will return to the king's service. So Adelia sets off for a yearlong royal processions. Accompanying her on the journey are her Arab companion, Mansure, her lover, Rowley, and the unusual newcomer: the Irish sea captain O'Donnell, who may prove more useful to Adelia than Rowley would like.
But another man has joined the procession-a murderer bent on the worst kind of revenge. When people in the princess's household begin to die, Adelia and Rowley suspect the killer is hiding in plain sight. Is his intended victim the princess....or Adelia herself
A Murderous Procession is the fourth book in A Mistress of the Art of Death series, each book outlines a mystery that Adelia must solve for King Henry. I love this series and the character of Adelia, there is a lot of leeway given to the main character and what she is allowed to get away with, but it doesn't really take much away from the story. I am a sucker for a great murder mystery especially a historical murder mystery. Franklin doesn't hold anything back when describing the crimes and situations that Adelia gets herself into which makes the novels a little on the dark side, but the stories are all original, interesting and compelling. I highly recommend this series to anyone who is a historical fiction mystery fan.
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