Book Description
In the fourth book in this acclaimed Irish medieval mystery series, Sister Fidelma investigates a murder at a remote abbey, only to encounter the strange disappearance of a ship and its entire crew...

"The literary successor to Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael." --Southern Star (Ireland)

"One of the most intriguing new characters in detective fiction."--Book & Magazine Collector

"A heroine whom many readers will willingly follow."--Kirkus Reviews

Sister Fidelma is "brilliant and beguiling." --Publishers Weekly

* This is the fourth book in the acclaimed Irish medieval mystery series
* The popular Sister Fidelma has been featured in stories in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, The Mammoth Book of Historical Mysteries, and Great Irish Detective Stories

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the Year 666 A.D., a headless female corpse is found in the drinking well of a remote abbey in southwest Ireland: clasped in one hand is a crucifix; tied to the other arm is a pagan death symbol. Sister Fidelma - sister to the king of Muman, a religieuse, and an advocate of the Brehon law courts - is sent to investigate. En route, she encounters a Gaulish merchant ship under full sail off the Irish coast - one whose crew and cargo have vanished without a trace. Faced with a tense local situation, Fidelma must discover first the identity of the body in the well and uncover who was responsible, then find out what happened to the missing crew of the adrift merchant ship, and, finally, determine how these bizarre events are connected. For these events are more than simply disturbing - the peace of the entire kingdom rests upon their solution.

FROM THE CRITICS

Kirkus Reviews

Another tangled chronicle set in seventh-century Ireland featuring Sister Fidelma of Kildare (Suffer Little Children, 1997, etc.). Fidelma, sister of King Colg£ of Muman and a respected advocate of the law courts, has been sent to the remote coastal Abbey of the Salmon of Three Wells to investigate the case of a headless, unidentified body of a young woman discovered in a water well. Fidelma's journey to the Abbey, in a coastal barque sailed by stalwart captain Ross, presents its own mystery when a foundering merchant ship from Gaul is boarded by Ross and found to be abandoned. Fidelma is received by arrogant Abbess Draigen and soon becomes aware of the bitter enmity between the Abbess and her brother Adn￯﾿ﾽr, chieftain of a nearby fortressþa hatred that extends to Adn￯﾿ﾽr's close companion Brother Febal, once Draigen's husband. Fidelma's task is complicated further when another decapitated bodyþthat of the Abbess's steward Sister Siomhaþis found in the clock tower. Meanwhile, Fidelma uncovers rumors of a treasure in gold; ferrets out a brewing insurrection against her brother the King; finds her old friend the Saxon monk Eadulf imprisoned in a copper mine; and makes numerous and complex discoveries that, in time, lead to the accomplishment of her original mission. There's too much of everything hereþcharacters, twists of plot, ancient manuscripts, feudal and religious history, and much, much more. Even the author's considerable storytelling skill can't overcome the massive obstacles burdening the narrative. A bonanza for students of the period; a heavy slog for anyone else.