In the 7th Century, King Oswy of Northumbria convenes a synod to hear debate between the Roman and Celtic churches. He has to decide which shall be granted primacy in his kingdom. When an abbess from the Celtic church is murdered, an investigation is launched by Sister Fidelma, Celtic, and Brother Eadfulf, Roman.
In the seventh century A.D., the murder of a high cleric threatens to result in war between two of Ireland's kingdoms. Sister Fidelma is summoned by the dying king to both solve the murder and prevent war. But Fidelma soon discovers that there are far more sinister forces at work than mere political intrigue.
An Ancient Enigma Wrapped in a Web of Deceit Immerse yourself in the riveting world of Peter Tremayne's Shroud for the Archbishop, a masterful tale of intrigue and suspense set against the atmospheric backdrop of 7th century Rome. The novel centers on the sharp-witted Sister Fidelma, an Irish nun and advocate of the ancient Brehon Law. This brave female sleuth dives headfirst into the dangerous political undercurrents of Rome's Lateran Palace when Wighard, Archbishop designate of Canterbury, is found brutally murdered. With a trail of bodies, labyrinthine motives, and stolen treasures, Fidelma must unravel the seemingly impenetrable knot of intrigue before the killer strikes again. This gripping story will transport you back to the Dark Ages, a world where religious tensions simmer beneath the surface. With a setting that extends from ancient Ireland to old England, this absorbing tale artfully combines elements of religion, crime, suspense, and history.
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.
"Highly literate and entirely engrossing. One of the year's best literary thrillers."—The Washington Post It's twenty years since police detective Alan McAlpine has set foot in Patrickhill Station—and more than twenty years since he fell forever in love with the mute, faceless woman he called Anna as she lay dying in Glasgow's Western Infirmary. Daily he'd watched over her, and they had begun to communicate with each other, she by moving her wounded fingers. Her fingers could not tell the sad, unseasoned police cadet her name, however, or name for him the father of her newborn baby girl or identify the assailants who had flung the acid in her once incomparably beautiful face. Or tell him how she'd smuggled a cache of uncut diamonds into Scotland. Now McAlpine is back in Patrickhill, where he's been summoned to head up the investigation of a disturbing murder case. Two women—their arms outstretched, their legs together and feet crossed at the ankle—have already died at the hands of a man the press has tagged the Crucifixion Killer. With crimes in the present continually detouring both McAlpine and the elusive killer he pursues into an unredeemed past, the mystery in this steely, piercing psychological thriller is as gripping as its twists are surprising. And absolution proves to be extreme.
The Absolution is the third installment in Queen of Icelandic crime fiction Yrsa Sigurdardóttir’s series about the psychologist Freyja and the police officer Huldar. The police find out about the crime the way everyone does: on Snapchat. The video shows a terrified young woman begging for forgiveness. When her body is found, it is marked with a number “2”. Detective Huldar joins the investigation, bringing child psychologist Freyja on board to help question the murdered teenager's friends. Soon, they uncover that Stella was far from the angel people claim, but who could have hated her enough to kill? Then another teenager goes missing, more clips are sent to social media, and the body with a “3” is found. Freyja and Huldar can agree on two things at least: the truth is far from simple. The killer is not done yet. And is there an undiscovered body carrying the number “1” out there?
When a murdered corpse of an unknown young noble is discovered, Fidelma of Cashel is brought in to investigate, in Peter Tremayne's The Seventh Trumpet Ireland, AD 670. When the body of a murdered young noble is discovered not far from Cashel, the King calls upon his sister, Fidelma, and her companion Eadulf to investigate. Fidelma, in addition to being the sister of the king, is a dailaigh—an advocate of the Brehon Law Courts—and has a particular talent for resolving the thorniest of mysteries. But this time, Fidelma and Eadulf have very little to work with—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 wave of violence erupting in the western lands of the kingdom? The turmoil there is being stirred up by an unknown fanatical figure who claims to have been summoned by "the seventh angel" to remove the "impure of faith." Fidelma and Eadulf, once again grappling with a tangled skein of murder and intrigue, must somehow learn what connects the dead noble, a murdered alcoholic priest, and an abbot who has turned his monastery into a military fortress. When it appears that things cannot get more complex, Fidelma herself is abducted, and Eadulf must rescue her before the mystery can be solved.
Peter Tremayne's Fidelma of Cashel mysteries, set in ancient Ireland, will delight readers with their confounding puzzles and brilliant characters. Here together for the first time are the first three books in the series. Absolution by Murder: In A.D. 664, someone murders the Abbess Etain, a supporter of the Celtic way, during the synod between the Roman and Celtic churches. Sister Fidelma, of the Celtic Church, is assigned to use her legal training and mental smarts to find out who wanted the abesss dead, and why. Along the way she is paired up with Brother Eadulf, who belongs to the Roman Church, and it becomes immediately apparent that there might be more between them, as they work together to find the killer and prevent civil war. Shroud for the Archbishop: Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf travel to Rome to deliver a message to his Holiness. But then the Archbishop is found dead, strangled in his chambers, and a monk is observed fleeing the scene of the crime. Convinced of the monk’s innocence, Fidelma pledges to help reveal the truth, but instead she stumbles across far too few clues, an abundance of motives, and a trail that is strewn with bodies. Suffer Little Children: Fidelma, sister of Colgu, who has just become the king of Muman, the largest of the five Irish kingdoms, is tasked with solving the mystery of who murdered the Venerable Dacan, a highly respected elder from a nearby kingdom. This death has far-reaching implications for the peace between the kingdoms, and Fidelma must work to find out what happened to Dacan before a bloody war breaks out between the many factions and families of sixth century Ireland.
In 7th century Ireland, Sister Fidelma investigates a headless female corpse in the drinking well of a remote abbey. In one hand the victim holds a crucifix, in the other a pagan death symbol.
A perplexing case of murder and conspiracy in the pagan wilds of Northern Italy In 664 A.D., just after the events detailed in Shroud for the Archbishop, Fidelma of Cashel takes a unexpected detour on her trip home from Rome. While in the port at Genua (modern day Genoa), Fidelma—sister of one Ireland's kings and an advocate in her country's law courts—receives word that one of her old teachers, Brother Ruadan, is reaching the end of his days. Determined to see her old mentor one last time, Fidelma takes the treacherous journey to a remote abbey in the countryside—a place where the old pagan religion still has a hold and where even the Christians are often in bloody conflict with each other. But after she hears her dying teacher's last words, Fidelma's most dangerous adventure has just begun. With one murder after the next and a vicious war in the offing, it is up to Fidelma, alone and on her own, to unravel an extraordinary conspiracy before it is too late.