It’s Franklin’s Night

Rap Sheet and January Magazine contributor Ali Karim just rang in from London, to say that Ariana Franklin’s second novel, Mistress of the Art of Death (Putnam U.S./Bantam UK), has picked up the 2007 Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award, presented annually by the British Crime Writers’ Association.

The announcement of Franklin’s win was made this evening, during a party at Six Fitzroy Square, in London, that was attended by Crime Time editor Barry Forshaw, columnist-novelist Mike Ripley, and numerous other fun-loving, UK crime-fiction nobs.

Describing Mistress of the Art of Death, the Ellis Peters panel of judges had previously remarked that

Ariana Franklin has found a unique female protagonist, an Italian doctor trained in the study of death and brought to England as assistant to a renowned investigator charged by Henry II with the solving of murder. In this seductive book, characters leap into life, scenes form a closely woven and colourful tapestry, the central figure of Adelia, the mistress of the art of death, has an unusual charm, and the plot darkens as the story progresses.

Also competing for this year’s Ellis Peters award were: The Snake Stone, by Jason Goodwin (Faber and Faber); The One from the Other, by Philip Kerr (Quercus); Murder at Deviation Junction, by Andrew Martin (Faber and Faber); The Savage Garden, by Mark Mills (HarperCollins); and The Tenderness of Wolves, by Stef Penney (Quercus). All excellent choices, too.