In this seventh installment, Fidelma seems to have come into her own. Tremayne doesn't need to remind us as often that she is a dalaigh, sister to the King, etc., etc. The mystery here has all the right ingredients: a robbery, an assassination plot, political intrigue, multiple locations, shady-but-not-really characters and wholesome-but-not-really characters. It was a good time, and I'll admit being a bit surprised at the end, which is a bonus! The violence seems to be greater than in previous books, but not particularly gory. The relationship between Fidelma and Eadulf grows (slowly) more complex, and there are good passages wherein Eadulf clearly has to grapple with the pagan ideas that inform and are present in medieval Irish Christianity (for some, it turns out), but Tremayne never gets too heavy-handed with the theological musings, so they are important bits of context, not the story itself. I still get mildly frustrated (as do some of the characters) with the final court/tribunal scene (in many of the books) wherein Fidelma relishes the slooooooooooow reveal, but there's enough elsewhere to make this a worthwhile and engaging read. ( )

La abadía de Imleach, al soroeste del reino irlandés de Muman, se está convirtiendo en un serio rival de Armagh como centro de la fe, gracias, sobre todo, a las reliquias que conserva. Por ello, las sospechas se dirigen sólo en una dirección cuando se producen simultáneamente dos enigmáticas desapariciones que tal vez estén vinculadas: por un lado, el monje más veterano de la abadía parece haber sido raptado, pero, por si fuera poco, las preciadas reliquias, de gran valor simbólico, tanto religioso como político, han sido robadas, lo cual puede tener consecuencias muy indeseables.

During a diplomatic visit by the Prince of the Uí Fidgente, would-be assassins shoot both the visiting prince and Sister Fidelma's brother Colgú, King of Cashel. Although neither of them are killed, accusations and counter-accusations of treachery fly and Fidelma and Eadulf have to sort out who was actually behind the attempted assassinations.

Another good historical mystery, though here's another romantic pair oblivious to their mutual attraction who need their heads banging together.

Om macht en invloed te krijgen die je op legale wijze niet krijgt, verzinnen sommigen heel ingewikkelde intriges. Gebruik makend van de geschiedenis (je vervalst gewoon wat data) en het bijgeloof van mensen, kom je misschien een eind. Maar niet als Fidelma en Eadulf je pad kruisen.

Another interesting 7th century mystery as Sister Fidelma and her faithful companion Tonto, in his Saxon guise as
Brother Eadulf., pursue a saint's relics and a missing monk. Tremayne continues to use his knowledge of Celtic Language and history to tell insightful tales of jurisprudence as practiced in ancient Ireland. ( )