RICARDA JORDAN (SARAH LARK)
This is the first of this author's historical mysteries I have read but it will not be the last. It is set in the 14th century, and the heroine is a feisty woman (my favorite kind of heroine!) who has studied both Jewish and Muslim medical lore (much ahead of European medical thought at the time), and fights prejudices against non-Christian healing methods during one of the bubonic plague outbreaks.
I am something of an expert on the history of medicine, and I was very impressed with the accurate background of the story. But what really made me stay glued to the Kindle page is the rare combination of great story telling and awesome command of language the author offers. This is a book I wanted to read out loud because the language is so beautiful, and between the likeable characters and their difficult journey, I could barely stand to put down the book (ah -- Kindle).
For those who are not fairly fluent in German, the book may be difficult, because it uses quite a bit of medieval vocabulary that is not familiar to modern readers. But if, like me, you are trying to remain fluent in German while living an English-speaking life, this is a gem worth investing in.
