
Diane J. (
Lituria) wrote on 9/24/2009...
Good Book!

Althea M. (
althea) wrote on 9/15/2008...
A mystery set in seventh-century Ireland; one of a series featuring the intelligent and feisty Sister Fidelma.
I haven't read any of the others, but this definitely worked as a stand-alone book. Fidelma, as an investigator with a good reputation, is asked to go to an abbey and investigate the murder of a venerable scholar who was studying at the renowned library there. But on the way, she encounters a group of raiders slaughtering the inhabitants of an entire village. Inheritance, old feuds and personal animosities all come up as Fidelma puts her talents to work... not to mention a growing toll of fatalities and atrocities... Can she solve the mystery and bring about justice for the slaughtered innocents before the High King arrives?
The book, I felt, does occasionally fall into the trap that so many historical mysteries do, of having the investigation proceed in very much the way that a modern criminal investigation would, rather than how it would have in the historical context. But still, Tremayne (Peter Berresford Ellis) is obviously quite knowledgable about Celtic history, and succeeds in creating an atmosphere redolent of ancient Ireland...

Louise L. (
p-u-g-i) wrote on 3/17/2007...
Tremayne's main character is Sister Fidelma, a female "lawyer" in mid seventh-century Ireland.

Bonnie S. (
GrannyB) - Valley Center, KS wrote on 3/10/2007...
A Sister Fidelma book is always a good read. Mr. Tremayne not only makes the characters believeable, the mystery attention catching, but is also a historical scholar of incomparable knowledge. He gives us a glimpse of life in a time when the Christian religion was different than that of Rome and the changes that it brought, including the changes for women who were their own persons and could rise as high as they wished in a political and legal institution.
In the Year of Our Lord 665, the village of Muman of what is now called Ireland, the beloved religious scholar, Ducan, has been found brutally murdered and the Sister Fidelma has been summoned back to her homeland in Muman to prevent a war by finding the murderer before the ruler of the neighboring kingdom can seek revenge. But Fidelma soon discovers there are more sinsiter forces at work, including political intrigue, deception, and a shroud of terror that surrounds young innocents connected to the killing. If truth isn't uncovered soon, justice may be lost forever in the din of war.

Vikki C. (
Vikki) wrote on 1/2/2007...
Another in this most excellent Sister Fidelma series
Sister Fidelma has been summoned back to her homeland to investigate the murder of the Venerable Dacan, a beloved religious scholar. She soon discovers more sinister forces at work: political intrigue, deception and a shroud of terror that surrounds young innocents connected to the killing.