My latest audio book is Mistress of the Art of Death. It's another whodunit, albeit set in 1171.

Four children have been found dead and mutilated. The Jews of Cambridge have been blamed for the murders, the most prominent Jewish moneylender and his wife have been killed by a mob, and the rest of the Jewish community is shut up in the castle under the protection of the sheriff.

The Jews are prosperous, and thus the king of England considers them his prize cash cows. He wants them cleared of suspicion and released, so they can go back to paying him high taxes. To this end, he appeals to his cousin, the king of Sicily, to send his best master of the art of death: a doctor skilled in "reading" bodies. Enter Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar, 25, the best mistress of death that the medical school at Salerno (the only medical school at that time that taught women) has ever produced. With Simon of Naples, a Jewish "fixer," and Mansur, a eunuch with a mean throwing-ax, it's her job to find a murderer before he -- or she -- can kill again.

Though the story is set in Cambridge, the Crusades run through the culture. The story's background is a wonderful tapestry of the paradoxes and struggles of the times: Christianity and Islam, Christians and Jews, science and superstition, and the new power of Henry II's rule of law versus the stranglehold of the Church.

There are also fascinating details of historical forensic medicine, entertaining notes on women in science (the medical school at Salerno is not fictional), and a nice running commentary on science and superstition, as distinct from religious faith.

Birthday postscript . . .

These are just part of the bouquet of tulips sent by my mother (and her little dog Matty). I often send flowers by Proflowers.com, but this is the first time I have been a recipient. For anyone looking for an easy way to send flowers, give them a try.

The girls and I are having a lazy Sunday. The weather is a bit gloomy, which makes it a perfect day for lying about on the couch . . .