Althea M. (althea) reviewed on 9/15/2008 + 774 more book reviews

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...

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