Usually, I find that sequels start falling to pieces after the third - a good story base can support a trilogy, but in my opinion, after that things start falling apart.
I'm pleased to say that's NOT the case with A Murderous Procession - I enjoyed it nearly as much as the first book in the series, Mistress of the Art of Death, more than The Serpent's Tale (#2), and at least as much as Grave Goods (#3).
That's not to say there were no weak spots:
1. The editing was spotty in places - nothing huge, but several cases of punctuation gone awry and one or two sentences that seemed to be forgotten about mid-edit. It's something that I suspect most readers won't even notice, but it was a bit of a distraction for me.
2. Based on other sources, I am inclined to disagree with Franklin's characterization of Eleanor of Aquitaine as being "far from Henry's intellectual equal." I believe that, given a society in which women were considered equals, instead of being thought slightly better than talking beasts, there would never have been a doubt that Eleanor was Henry's intellectual equal... at LEAST. Her lamp, so to speak, was hidden under the bushel of the times, when an intelligent, powerful, outspoken woman was an abomination. Considering how much she accomplished and impacted the cultures *even* with those constraints, IMO there can be no doubt that the woman was any man's match. Further, though she might very well have embellished a tale or played upon someone's credulity to impress a potential ally (or suppress a potential enemy), nothing I have ever read about Eleanor indicates that she would be the kind of person to give in to self-delusion, or be credulous herself. That was my biggest gripe with The Serpent's Tale, that Eleanor was portrayed as weak-minded, gullible, easily convinced of her own hype (= out of touch with reality) - it was less strong in this book, but still irksome.
3. I was distracted by the number of potential Bad Guys and the overt, almost lazy way they were presented. One of the best parts of Mistress of the Art of Death (#1) was that there was so little known about the villain, it left everyone open to suspicion. In this one, there were, if I recall correctly, four people that you suspected right off, as soon as they were introduced. I found myself less engaged with the mystery, because it no longer seemed so much a "mystery," and more like a "process of elimination." I spotted the villain as soon as he was introduced (although I admit I wavered a bit in places) though I hoped that I would be COMPLETELY wrong - that it would turn out to be none of the people we were so obviously meant to suspect.
4. I was left unconvinced by one (new) character's romantic interest in another - the new character was well-realized and I hope to see more of that character in the future, but I couldn't quite believe the infatuation. I have never been entirely sold on Adelia and Rowley's volatile relationship either, for that matter - there are times it really comes through, but there are lots and lots of times when I wonder why they bother, when there is so comparably little tenderness, concern, or gentle affection shown between them - Adelia has many moments of "Bless him," but seldom expresses it except in bed; Rowley expresses his affection by getting angry, overruling Adelia's concerns because "he knows best" and "wants to keep her safe," then saying things like "Now, take off your clothes." Not the kind of partner I'd want.
Their relationship (and its rocky bits) gained a bit more depth and nuance for me when Adelia's parents are introduced, and we see that they have a bickering, sort of rough-edged relationship too - but with Adelia's parents, I was able to truly see the love, respect, concern, and tenderness in even their most caustic exchanges. With Adelia and Rowley, it's much less evident (to me) when they're actually together. They seem doomed to pine after each other when they're separated, only to fly into a disagreement within ten seconds of being in the same room and then spend days giving each other the cold shoulder.
Until the end.
5. I have to admit, I turn the next page, breathless, and yelled, "WHAT?! She [Franklin] CAN'T do this! She CAN'T - how does - did he - are - WHAT?!?!?!"
I hope with all I have that she is working on another book, and I hope that Adelia and Rowley are able to extricate themselves from the tangled mess that Rowley's role in the church has made of their relationship. I swear, I'm going to lose sleep until I find out how that all is resolved.
