This was a re-read for me and I continue to feel like none of the subsequent books live up to the first in the series but I enjoy the series anyway. ( )

Abandoned. The theme has become tedious and I really, really do not want to read about old Scarry. That was a side-saga part of Book 3's plot and I wasn't going to tolerate the chase and killing and blah, blah, blah. So I'm done with this set of characters. ( )

So I didn't realize until I found it on GoodReads that this is a middle book a series. Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy to just jump into as Murder in Chinatown, so I'm giving up.

That said, I absolutely loved the opening. It started out with an intense free-for-all soccer/football/rugby game that everyone got wrapped up in. It was a great scene! There also was a pretty good diverse cast of characters--the main character was a Sicilian woman, her partner-in-medicine was an Arab eunuch, and there was definite differentiation between the different groups of people living in England. But I just couldn't jump on board with characters that had a lot of history when I didn't know anything about them, was a bit put off by the fact that Excalibur just appeared out of nowhere, and was disgusted to find that while a bishop's affair was condoned a gay couple was shoved to the forefront as the villains--and the fact that they'd been lovers was the first thing mentioned about them. They better have had a decent showing earlier in the series.

For the record, the reason I am putting this down is because it's a later installment in a series and I can't get on board in the middle. It has nothing to do with the "fact" that, as some random sexist old guy on the subway said, "Women don't write the best murders." Ugh! ( )

A Murderous Procession (Mistress of the Art of Death) is a book that keeps its pace from beginning to end. However, the biggest problem is its length and the fact that it comes to abrupt end. It felt like the author was just getting into the story when she decided to end it. The characters who are supposed to be liked are liked and those who are evil are evil and not liked. The best part of the book was the author explaining the historical people who the characters were based upon. Because of the abrupt ending this book received a nice solid four stars. ( )

I love this series. Rather original. ( )