Wow. I know I keep saying this, but really – this is one of the best Sister Fidelma stories yet. The plots and sub-plots are complex and flow fast and furious.

Sister Fidelma’s friend Brother Eadulf is waylaid on his return trip to Canterbury to report to his Bishop and bring messages from Sister Fidelma’s brother, the King of Muman (modern day Munster) in Cashel. The rebellious and ill-governed kingdom of Laigin (modern-day Leinster) has moved away from the secular Laws of the Fénechus, more popularly called the Brehon Laws, and taken on a system called the Penitentials, developed by Roman reformers of the Church initially as a system for religious communities to govern themselves by. Physical punishment, a system of vengeance, including flogging, mutilations, and executions – ruling by fear – became an easier way to bend the people’s wills than efforts of rehabilitation and reconciliation. This was just one of the challenges facing Ireland and its people in the mid-7th century.

This story incorporates many of the differences in the laws and the slow erosion by Rome’s ecclesiastical influence of the people of Ireland – the one land during those dark times where knowledge, learning, logic, spirituality, and wisdom were sought after by students and seekers from nearly 20 other countries.

With so much complexity, it is more than I can do to write a proper review without giving away key plot points. Suffice it to say that Brother EadulfÂ’s life is in jeopardy and Sister FidelmaÂ’s efforts to save his life are hampered by corruption and conspiracy. Time and again she is forced to set her emotions aside, ferret out the facts, and attempt to put together the pieces that will free her friend.

What Sister Fidelma eventually uncovers was an eye opener – and a sad and tragic one at that. The more I learn about life more than a thousand years ago, the more I see: (1) how many things remain the same; and (2) how antiquated and money-centric our legal system is; and (3) how far we have fallen as human beings.

The good news is that underneath all of our current woes and ridiculousness, there is knowledge of a better way. Maybe healthier and more life-sustaining methods of governing and solving disputes will revolve through our universal doors again someday – probably not in my lifetime, but there is always hope for the future.


2019-completed x-favrit-series84 s Clemens Schoonderwoert1,171 106

Read this book in 2009, and its the 11th volume, chronologically, of the wonderful "Sister Fidelma" series.

After arriving home from her pilgrimage, Sister Fidelma is told about that her Saxon companion, Brother Eadulf, is under a sentence of death.

She hurries over to the capital of Laigin where Brother Eadulf is held, and there she will meet resistance from the King of Laigin, as well as from the sinister Abbess Fainder from the Abbey of Fearna.

At this Abbey of Fearna should the crime have been committed, and although Sister Fidelma believes in Eadulf's innocence, she has little time for the King of Laigin wants to make an example of Eadulf and hang him.

What is to follow is an intriguing and thrilling Irish mystery, in which by using her wits and determination, Sister Fidelma will after sifting the evidence, and after some twists and turns, followed by a superbly executed plot be able to reveal the real culprit of this heinous murder.

Highly recommended, for this is another tremendous addition to this amazing series, and that's why I to call this episode: "A Fantastic Lady Of Darkness"!13 s dOnnabud135 7

I'm a huge fan of the series. While Europe and Britain languished in the Medieval Dark Ages, it was a period of enlightenment in Ireland, where many of the world's most elite rulers sent their offspring (usually males) to be educated. Before being squashed and corrupted by British invaders, Ireland possessed an ideal society in which women were protected against rape and abuse, permitted to own property, possessed equal rights in marriages and access to education, and allowed to pursue any occupation, including those in the highest tiers of society. This is the perfect environment for the wise (though young) and courageous, competent and brilliant Sister Fidelma to blossom fully. In this adventure, she's reunited with her dear friend, Brother Eadulf, as she works frantically to prove him innocent of murder and save him from the new and controversial Roman Penitential punishment of hanging. It's a fabulous read!5 s paper0r0ss0648 49

Un discreto svago giallo senza molte pretese che scorre agevolmente, sempre accompagnato da una vaga sensazione di inverosimiglianza. L'unico intoppo puo' essere rappresentato dall'esondazione di termini celtici che in ultima analisi contribuiscono curiosa descrizione di una societa' lontana nel tempo e nello spazio.giallo4 s Kathy3,576 252

I read this one again in March 2015, and I must note that this is a critical book in the Fidelma series as it involves the situation where Eadulf is nearly executed for crimes he did not commit. Having come back to it later I now think it is my favorite! There are no boring parts in this one.4 s Judy3,287 62

It was time for me to return to ancient Ireland -- I enjoyed every page of this book, often reading longer than I intended.

This is the first time, however, that I was asking questions that I think Fidelma should have asked. For instance,
- Why didn't Fidelma search Gormgilla's room? She always searches the victims' rooms.
- Fial wasn't available for questioning. Why didn't Fidelma probe for the girl's location?
- Fidelma didn't ask if there other young novitiates at the abbey.
- It seemed odd to me that Eadulf would be sleeping soundly with the evidence of the crime on his person. Surely if he were guilty he would not have taken a 'souvenir' or left blood on his clothing. Why wasn't this issue pursued?
fic-pre-1800-not-us mystery relig-phil-spirituality ...more3 s Nancy Ellis1,415 45

In mid-7th Century Ireland, Sister Fidelma is not just a religieuse, she is also a highly ranked advocate of law as well as the sister of the King of Muman. She rushes home from a pilgrimage because her companion, the Saxon Brother Eadulf, has been arrested and convicted for murder in the neighboring kingdom of Laigin. Racing against time, because he is scheduled to be executed the next day, she must find the real killer in 24 hours. This will not be an easy task, especially since the King of Laigin, the leading advocate, and the abbess are all her enemies. Fidelma must unravel the threads of conspiracy before it is too late for Brother Eadulf. I love this series, absolutely love the setting, the characters, and the historical background included in each story. 2 s Malcolm1,814 469

Book number ten in the series in which sleuth, Sister Fidelma, dálaigh (advocate) of the Brehon courts of Ireland, sister of the King of Cashel and logician extraordinaire sets out to save her trusty sidekick, Brother Eadulf, convicted of murder in the neighbouring kingdom. There are all the things we’d of a Fidelma mystery: red herrings, arrogance and pride as source of distraction, missed associations (but very few missed clues), rivalry at various levels of the social hierarchy (here, between royal lines), and in this case a clash of legal codes.

It is this clash of codes that gives this outing some of its kick. Tremayne is a pen name for Peter Berresford Ellis, an established historian early Irish history (these stories are set in the mid 7th century): he brings that scholarly insight, so they are rich in historical context. He writes well with good pacing and at times gentle ‘cliff hangers’. Happily, he managed to avoid some of the habitual (and annoying) textual tics – at no stage, for instance, did Fidelma’s unruly hair threaten to escape her habit.

All round, a good yarn, with just enough twists and sidelines to keep us guessing and me entertained without being particularly demanding; just the thing when there is much else going on.crime2 s Mick Dubois439 46

Eadulf is found guilty of raping and murdering a 12-year-old novice and will be hanged in 24 hours when Fidelma arrives in Laigin. She can convince the king to allow her an appeal hearing, but that will be held before the same judge that condemned the Saxon, her old adversary bishop Fossenbach! Now, the reader knows just as Fidelma does that no way it is possible that Eadulf committed such a low crime but how the hell will she prove that in such a short time? This is definetly the most thrilling part of the series until now. Near the end, I had a fair idea who was behind some of the crimes but there's always even more than you can guess that goes on in these Celtic mysteries. british-detective historical legal-thriller2 s Marie69

OH.MY.WORD!!! I cannot imagine how the rest of the series will go!2 s Anne806 4

One of the better of the Sister Fidelma mysteries.2 s Sandie453

Another Sister Fidelma mystery. She is a nun, and a trained advocate, or lawyer, in the Brehon judicial system. Set in seventh century Ireland, this on concerns a friend of the sister's , who has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. She has only 24 hours to save him from execution, and in doing so uncovers a horrible conspiracy. The current king has abandoned the traditional judicial code of Ireland in favor of a more fundamentalist ecclesiastical Penitential from Rome, and the story brings out the differences between them. Eventually the more punitive Roman code won, but it is interesting to read about the older Irish customs and codes. monster-women-group mystery1 Lizzie Lashbrook72 21

I definitely didnÂ’t guess who the murderer was! I love that it takes place in the 7th century Ireland. So interesting to learn more about what it would have been . Being Scot-Irish, it makes me want to go visit there even more someday
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