When the Abbess Faife is found stabbed to death and her 6 companions in pilgrimage are discovered missing, Fidelma is asked to investigate. Then an aged, learned brother is found bludgeoned in the abbey itself, and Fidelma takes it upon herself to look into this death too. Her investigations are hampered by the hostility of the locals as this all takes place in Ui Fidgente territory, the neighboring kingdom that had rebelled against her brother the king's rule and had just recently been soundly defeated in war. Nevertheless, Fidelma is determined to uncover the truth in hopes of not only delivering justice but fostering a better diplomatic relationship with the former rebels' people. Tremayne's stories have a tendency to follow a very similar pattern in the beginning of his protagonist's investigations, but each mystery proves to be unique and the unraveling of it intriguing, beguiling, and fascinating as always.
Once again Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf team to work to solve a mystery while others emerge. It all begins when a merchant ship from Gaul is wrecked on Ireland's coast. Lured by a light onto the rocky shore during a storym that is believed to be another ship. The only survivor is the ship's captain. Meanwhile an an abbess is slaughtered and six religieuse are abducted. Strangely, an elderly revered scholar also is murdered at the Abbey of Ard Fhearta. The question for the two investigators is whether these deaths are connected or is it just coincidence?
The Abbey and its surrounding lands belong to the Ui Fidgente,
a people who find it difficult to accept the king whose armies defeated their own a few years ago. Many are sworn enemies of the Kingdom of Muman. Thus the conflicting evidence and individuals make unraveling why the deaths these deaths occurred. At times one wonders whether Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf can survive this situation. I found the plot the most interesting of the books in this series to date. It's exciting and throught provoking.
The Abbey and its surrounding lands belong to the Ui Fidgente,
a people who find it difficult to accept the king whose armies defeated their own a few years ago. Many are sworn enemies of the Kingdom of Muman. Thus the conflicting evidence and individuals make unraveling why the deaths these deaths occurred. At times one wonders whether Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf can survive this situation. I found the plot the most interesting of the books in this series to date. It's exciting and throught provoking.
