In the late autumn of 666 A.D., Fidelma of Cashel - an advocate of the Brehon Courts, sister to the King of Cashel, and religieuse of the Celtic Church is at a crossroads. Needing to reflect upon her commitment to the religious life and her relationship to the Saxon monk Eadulf, she leaves Eadulf behind and joins a small band sailing from Ireland on a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. James in modern-day Spain. Her first surprise on-board is the appearance of Cian, her first love, a man who had deserted her ten years ago, and who stirs up memories she'd rather forget.As if this wasn't complication enough, on the first night out the ship is tossed by a turbulent sea and a pilgrim disappears, apparently washed overboard. But the appearance of a blood-stained robe raises the possibility of murder and death continues to dog the tiny band of pilgrims trapped within the close confines of the ship. Battling against the antagonism of her fellow pilgrims, Fidelma is determined...

In November of 667 A.D., Fidelma of Cashel has returned home to her brother's castle to discover that a servant, her son's nurse, has been found brutally murdered in the woods near town, and her son is missing, presumed kidnapped or worse. Sister Fidelma, sister to king of Muman in Ireland, an advocate of the Brehon courts, and a religieuse of the Celtic Church, and her husband Brother Eadulf now must face their most personal and baffling case ever. Is there a traitor at her brother's court? Are the Ui Fidgente, the old blood enemies of Fidelma's family, involved? And what is the role of the mysterious dwarf seen leaving the kingdom carrying a leper's bell? With few clues and precious little time, Fidelma must unravel this complicated puzzle in time to rescue her missing child.From Publishers WeeklyIn the pseudonymous Tremayne's intriguing 15th Irish historical (after 2005's Badger's Moon), Fidelma of Cashel suffers a terrible personal loss. On returning in the fall of A.D. 667 to the castle of her brother, Colgú, who's the king of Muman, Fidelma discovers that her baby son's nurse has been murdered and her son has disappeared. She and Brother Eadulf, her partner in a trial marriage, become involved in a complex plot involving palace politics and hostile tribes, frightening captures and hair-raising escapes. The diverse supporting cast includes warriors and woodsmen, bishops and apothecaries, dwarfs and lepers. Despite some clunky prose, the author, an authority on ancient Celtic culture under his real name of Peter Berresford Ellis, once again brings the people and customs of seventh-century Ireland to vivid life. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistIn the fifteenth entry in the series, Sister Fidelma, seventh-century religieuse of the Celtic Church and advocate of the Irish Brehon Courts, faces her most personal and difficult case to date when her infant's nurse is found dead in the woods and her child is nowhere to be found. Together with her husband, Brother Eadulf, she launches a meticulous investigation into the circumstances surrounding her son's presumed kidnapping, but the meager clues point in multiple directions. Meanwhile, her marriage to Eadulf is strained not only by worry but also by the fact that her countrymen think she has married beneath her station. In addition, she is wracked by guilt over her previous irritation at the restrictions that being a wife and a mother impose on her personal freedom. Struggling to contain her emotions, she brings her formidable logic to bear on the case. Tremayne brings his customary attention to historical detail to a narrative that incorporates surprisingly modern concerns. Joanne WilkinsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Introduction MURDER IN REPOSE MURDER BY MIRACLE TARNISHED HALO ABBEY SINISTER OUR LADY OF DEATH HEMLOCK AT VESPERS AT THE TENT OF HOLOFERNES A CANTICLE FOR WULFSTAN THE HIGH KING’S SWORD THE POISONED CHALICE HOLY BLOOD A SCREAM FROM THE SEPULCHERTHE HORSE THAT DIED FOR SHAME INVITATION TO A POISONING THOSE THAT TRESPASS

Ireland, AD 670. When the body of a murdered young noble is discovered not far from Cashel, the King calls upon Sister Fildema and her companion Eadulf to investigate. The only clue to the noble's identity is an emblem originating from the nearby kingdom of Laign. Could the murder be somehow related to the violence erupting in the west of the kingdom? The turmoil is led by a fanatical figure claiming to have been summoned by 'the seventh angel' to remove the 'impure of faith' from the land, and Fidelma and Eadulf soon find themselves struggling with a tangled skein of murder and intrigue. What is the mystery that connects the dead noble, a murdered alcoholic priest, and a menacing abbot who has built his abbey into a military fortress? When Sister Fidelma herself becomes the victim of abduction, it is up to Eadulf to find and save her from imminent death, so that the mystery can be solved...Review“Tremayne writes so authentically about this remote time period that readers will feel they are there in every way . . . a delight!” —Library Journal (starred) on Master of Souls “The action is tense and gripping . . . a compelling, enjoyable adventure.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer on The Monk who Vanished “Tremayne, a master of the medieval mystery, continues to shine.” —Booklist on The Dove of Death “Fidelma's ability to best opponents, whether in argument, strategy, or audacity, makes her a heroine for any age.” —Publishers Weekly on The Council of the CursedAbout the AuthorPeter Tremayne is the fiction pseudonym of a well-known authority on the ancient Celts, who has utilised his knowledge of the Brehon law system and 7th-Century Irish society to create a new concept in detective fiction.

A secret mission. A murdered abbot. A false accusation: the compelling new Sister Fidelma mystery. Ireland, AD 671. Sister Fidelma has a mission, and she is sworn by oath to reveal her purpose to no other. The secret investigation leads her and her companions to the abbey of Finnbarr to question the abbot. But before they have a chance to speak to him, the abbot is found murdered - and the young girl suspected of the crime has fled the scene. As vicious rumours spread, accusing Fidelma's family, the Eóghanacht Kings of Cashel, of conspiring to assassinate the High King and abduct his wife, Sister Fidelma's life is placed in mortal danger. Unable to tell the truth of her quest to anyone, including her husband Eadulf, Fidelma's time is running out - and now she has no choice but to face the challenge, and her enemies, alone

In January of 668 A.D., Fidelma of Cashel - sister to the king of Muman, an advocate of the Brehon law courts and a religieuse in the Celtic Church - is called to investigate the brutal murder of Abbess Faife and the mysterious disappearance of six young female religieuse accompanying  her on a short pilgrimage away from her abbey. When Sister Fidelma and her husband,  Brother Eadulf, arrive they find that there has been another death under mysterious circumstances, one of the senior scholars of the abbey has been bludgeoned to death. These two seemingly unrelated deaths - and the further mysteries of the trade ship lured to its doom on the rocky western shore of Ireland and the rumored figure of "The Master of Souls" wrecking havoc and raising rebellion - combine to create on the the most perplexing mysteries ever faced by the redoubtable Fidelma.

Super sleuth Sister Fidelma returns in a brand-new historical mystery by Peter Tremayne, acclaimed author of Atonement of Blood, The Seventh Trumpet and many more. Ireland, AD 671. When a curious deputation of religieux arrive in Cashel, death follows close behind. Sister Fidelma and her companion, Eadulf, seem unable to stem the bloodshed. Is one of the deputation responsible? What was the Venerable Verax, the scholar from Rome, hiding? Was there an evil secret behind the austere Bishop Arwald? Indeed, what was the real reason behind Eadulf's brother Egric's unexpected appearance at Cashel - could he be the culprit? Victims and suspects combine to make a tangled skein of mystery more complex and bloody than Fidelma and Eadulf have ever faced.

Winter, 670 AD. King Colgú has invited the leading nobles and chieftains of his kingdom to a feast day. Fidelma and her companion Eadulf are finally home for an extended stay, and have promised their son, Alchú, that they’ll be able to spend some time together after months of being on the road, investigating crimes. Fidelma and Eadulf are enjoying the feast when it is interrupted by the entrance of a religieux, who claims he has an important message for the King. He approaches the throne and shouts ‘Remember Liamuin!’ and then stabs King Colgú. The assassin is slain, but does enough damage to take out Colgú’s bodyguard, and to put the king himself on the verge of death. As King Colgú lies in recovery, Fidelma, Eadulf, and bodyguard Gormán are tasked with discovering who is behind the assassination attempt, and who Liamuin is. They must journey into the territory of their arch-enemies, the Uí Fidgente, to uncover the secrets in the Abbey of Mungairit, and then venture into the threatening mountain territory ruled by a godless tyrant. Danger and violence are their constant companions until the final devastating revelation.Atonement of Blood is a mystery of Ancient Ireland from Peter Tremayne.

Fidelma of Cashel and her beloved companion Brother Eadulf have one final journey to make before returning to Ireland. Invited to Aldred's Abbey, where Eadulf's childhood friend Brother Botulf is steward, they arrive at midnight on the old pagan festival of Yule to find Botulf dead-his head caved in by a blunt instrument. As Fidelma and Eadulf soon learn, murder isn't the only danger facing those in the abbey. The ghost of a young woman haunts the cloister shadows, a ghost closely resembling the Abbot's dead wife. It will require all of Fidelma's skill as an advocate of the Brehon Courts to uncover the truth-before the abbey's secrets take yet another life.From BooklistSister Fidelma, seventh-century religieuse of the Celtic Church and advocate of the Irish Brehon Courts, continues her travels in search of spiritual and personal fulfillments. Together with her beloved companion, Brother Eadulf, she journeys to East Anglia to visit Aldred's Abbey. Arriving in the middle of a snowstorm on the eve of the winter solstice, Fidelma and Eadulf are shocked to find Brother Botulf, the steward of the abbey and Eadulf's childhood friend, with his skull brutally smashed in. Although the abbey itself appears to be haunted and Christians and pagans are engaging in armed conflict, Fidelma probes beneath the surface to uncover a decidedly unexpected motive for murder. Interwoven into the suspenseful plot is the intimate story of Fidelma and Eadulf as they decide whether to permanently bind themselves to one another--a commitment sanctioned by the ancient church before celibacy became a requirement. Tremayne displays his usual meticulous attention to historical detail in this intelligent and artfully crafted whodunit. Margaret FlanaganCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedReview"A solid historical series."--Library Journal"...reliably entertaining."--Publishers Weekly