Death of a Heretic

Death of a Heretic

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

The suspicious death of a foreign bishop brings trouble to Sister Fidelma and the kingdom of Muman. Ireland. AD 672. The abbey of Muman at Imleach Iubhair is being renovated when its guests' hostel burns to the ground. There is one fatality: Bishop Brodulf of Luxovium, a distinguished visitor and cousin to the King of Franks. Sister Fidelma is asked by Abbot Cu�n to investigate the unfortunate incident and soon finds that the bishop had been stabbed to death before the fire had even started.Thrown into a world of treachery and jealousy, where religious beliefs are vehemently disputed, Fidelma and her companions, Eadulf and Enda, face a barrier of deceit. The abbey, a leading ecclesiastical teaching institution as well as a conhospitae, housing both men and women, is divided into factions. Can Abbot Cu�n trust Prioress Suanach, who is in charge of the sisterhood? Can the professors trust each other as well as their students? Moreover, can...
Read online
  • 698
Revenge of the Stormbringer

Revenge of the Stormbringer

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

Summer, AD 672. Princess Gelgeis has arrived in Cashel with her personal bodyguard, a troop of female warriors called the Daughters of the Storm. When one of them is found slain next to the sleeping chamber of the newly married king and queen and, a short time later, the stewardess of the royal house is poisoned, questions are raised as to everyone's safety . . .Fidelma and Eadulf must first explain the 'locked room' mystery of how the attack took place in King Colgu's specially built secure apartment. Then they must interrogate the growing list of suspects - even Enda, the commander of the household guard, who had formed a romantic attachment to the murdered attendant, cannot be ignored . . .As the fair being held to celebrate the king and queen's wedding approaches, tensions mount and Fidelma must work quickly to expose a ruthless killer before it is too late . . .Sister Fidelma returns in Revenge of the Stormbringer, the thirty-fourth Celtic mystery by...
Read online
  • 643
Blood in Eden

Blood in Eden

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

An unputdownable mystery of bloodshed and betrayal featuring 7th-century Irish sleuth Sister Fidelma Ireland, AD 671. The hamlet of Cloichín is said to be a veritable Eden, with its prosperous farms and close-knit, friendly community. But after a local farmer, his wife and two sons are murdered, a fanatical new priest orders the villagers to lynch the man accused of the crime. The only evidence they hold against him is the fact that he is a stranger to their land. Searching for accommodation on their journey home to Cashel, Sister Fidelma and Eadulf arrive at Cloichín just in time to save the man's life. Fidelma is determined that the villagers must give the newcomer a fair trial. But there is to be more blood in Eden and more lives will be lost as long-standing friends become new-found enemies, and no one knows who to trust...
Read online
  • 638
Sister Fidelma 08 - Act of Mercy

Sister Fidelma 08 - Act of Mercy

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

When Sister Fidelma sets out on a pilgrimage in the autumn of AD 666, her main preoccupation is to reflect on her commitment to the religious life and her relationship with the Saxon monk, Eadulf, whom she has left behind. Complications arise during the first night on the ship when one of the pilgrims is apparently washed overboard. The discovery of a blood-stained robe raises the question of murder and Fidelma finds herself having to focus all her abilities on solving the mystery. Death dogs the tiny band of pilgrims in the close confines of the ship, but is not until the Holy Shrine is almost reached that the amazing truth is uncovered...Review"The literary successor to Ellis Peters's Brother Cadfael." -- Southern Star, IrelandAbout the AuthorPeter Tremayne is the fiction pseudonym of Peter Berresford Ellis, an authority on the ancient Celts, who has used his knowledge of the Brehon law system and 7th-Century Irish society to create a new concept in detective fiction.
Read online
  • 634
Sister Fidelma 16 - Master of Souls

Sister Fidelma 16 - Master of Souls

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

On a storm-driven night, wreckers drive a ship onto rocks off the coast of Ireland. An Abbess leading a pilgrimage is killed and the young religieuse with her abducted. An ageing scholar is murdered in the Abbey of Ard Fhearta. Do these events have a connection? Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf go to Ard Fhearta to examine the mystery. But the abbey stands in the territory of the Uí Fidgente, enemies of Fidelma and her brother, the King of Cashel, and danger threatens Fidelma and Eadulf from the moment of their arrival. What is the link that connects the crimes? Who is the mysterious `master of souls' spreading death and corruption across the land? Has Uaman the Leper, Lord of the Passes, returned from the dead?Review"'Wonderfully evocative' The Times 'A brilliant and beguiling heroine. Immensely appealing, difficult to put down' Publishers' Weekly 'Definitely an Ellis Peter competitor...the background detail is marvellous' Evening Standard 'Well-paced and suspenseful, sprinkled with Old Irish terms and fascinating details of early Irish life... Fidelma is a an original and complex character...An Irish heroine for both the seventh and twenty-first centuries' Books Ireland" About 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.
Read online
  • 596
Sister Fidelma 04 - The Subtle Serpent

Sister Fidelma 04 - The Subtle Serpent

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

Seventh century Ireland provides the background in Peter Tremayne's newest murder mystery which begins gruesomely as two nuns pull a decapitated corpse from their drinking well. Sister Fidelma is called upon to determine who the body is and how she met her untimely end. Fidelma, as an advocate of the courts, is the appropriate person to collect evidence and determine if there is a case to be answered. Although Tremayne makes clear in his introduction that women under Irish law in the period aspired to and performed most professions on a similar footing with men, he does not neglect the opportunity to place Fidelma in situations where both her youth and gender raise the question of her suitability for her official capacity. Still, her enjoyment in convincing her doubters of her abilities and her ultimate success indicate, as Tremayne evidently intends, that this particular period, at least as Ireland as concerned, should not be characterized as a dark one. En route to the scene of the crime that opens the story, Sister Fidelma encounters a second curiosity, a ship foundering in the waves without a person on board. What Fidelma does discover are hints that an old and trusted friend was aboard and seems to have met the same mysterious fate as the rest of the crew and cargo, whatever that might have been. The novel proceeds as Fidelma sets out to determine the cause of each of her mysteries, and what if any is the connection between them. Tremayne is a careful and engaging storyteller; his characters are thoughtfully drawn, and he uses the central mystery for them to discuss and reflect upon the differences between the native Irish church and that of Rome (which is becoming the more powerful--and whose ultimate success will keep women like Fidelma out of the halls of power which she has confidently and capably strode.) The ecclesiastical period setting may remind readers of the work of Ellis Peters, but the 7th century is distinct from the 12th and Ireland distinct from England. Tremayne relishes those differences, creating a tale that has much to enlighten and intrigue his readers and make them anxious for the next time Sister Fidelma is called to perform her duties.
Read online
  • 586
Sister Fidelma 11 - Smoke in the Wind

Sister Fidelma 11 - Smoke in the Wind

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sister Fidelma and her companion Brother Eadulf are on their way to visit the new Archbishop of Canterbury, when their ship is blown off course and they land on the coast of the Welsh kingdom of Dyfed. They are given hospitality by King Gwlyddien and Abbot Tryffin of the Abbey of Dewi Sant, and are asked if they would help to solve the mystery of how the entire monastic community of the Abbey, including the Kingís eldest son, could vanish into thin air. Itís not long before the trail leads to deaths and treachery in high places and Fidelma and Eadulf are faced with one of the most sinister and baffling puzzles they've ever experienced.
Read online
  • 581


Sister Fidelma 15 - Whispers of the Dead

Sister Fidelma 15 - Whispers of the Dead

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

"The dead always whisper to us. It is our task to listen to the whispers of the dead." Fidelma of Cashel - sister to the King of Muman, a religieuse of the Celtic Church and an advocate of the Brehon courts - returns in this new collection of tales. From the death of a young peasantwoman, to the discovery of a body in a saint's tomb, Sister Fidelma is on hand to investigate the crimes of misdemeanours of the communities she visits. The stories are full of theft and murder, guilt and innocence, and blend historical detail with gripping mysteries and fascinating characters.
Read online
  • 570
The Shapeshifter's Lair

The Shapeshifter's Lair

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sister Fidelma returns in the thirty-first Celtic mystery by Peter Tremayne. Ireland. AD 672. The body of a dead man has been found on a lonely mountain road and taken to the isolated abbey of Gleann Da Loch for a proper burial. The abbot quickly identifies him as Brehon Brocc, who had been travelling to the abbey on a secret mission with Princess Gelgeis and her steward. When news reaches Colgu, King of Muman, that his betrothed, Princess Gelgeis, has disappeared, Fidelma with her trusted companions, Eadulf and Enda, enter the hostile Kingdom of Laigin in search of the truth. But one death is quickly followed by another and warnings of demonic shapeshifters and evil lurking in the mountains must be taken seriously. Are there really brigands stealing gold and silver from the ancient mines? And are rumours of a war between the Kingdoms of Laigin and Muman to be believed? As Fidelma searches for answers, she must do everything in her power to avoid danger and...
Read online
  • 570
Sister Fidelma 01 - Absolution by Murder

Sister Fidelma 01 - Absolution by Murder

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

In A.D. 664, King Oswy of Northumbria has convened a synod at Whitby to hear debate between the Roman and Celtic Christian churches and decide which shall be granted primacy in his kingdom. At stake is much more than a few disputed points of ritual; Oswy's decision could affect the survival of either church in the Saxon kingdoms. When the Abbess Etain, a leading speaker for the Celtic church, is found murdered, suspicion falls upon the Roman faction. In order to diffuse the tensions that threaten to erupt into civil war, Oswy turns to Sister Fidelma of the Celtic Church (Irish and an advocate for the Brehon Court) and Brother Eadulf of the Roman church (from east Anglia and of a family of hereditary magistrates) to find the killer. But as further murders occur and a treasonous plot against Oswy matures, Fidelma and Eadulf soon find themselves running out of time.**
Read online
  • 491
The Ants are Coming

The Ants are Coming

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

Lopez could not discern which was the red mess of ants and which was blood. Sanchez was acrawl with the terrifying creatures. When Jane Sewell returns to the Brazilian jungle to help her anthropologist father in his work, it is not the happy reunion she is expecting. She doesn’t find the thriving village she remembers. Just a pile of bones… Human bones. Picked clean…
Read online
  • 488
Sister Fidelma 09 - Hemlock at Vespers

Sister Fidelma 09 - Hemlock at Vespers

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sister Fidelma-an Eognacht princess and sister to the king of Cashel, a religieuse of the Celtic Church and an advocate of the Brehornn court-is one of the most interesting and compelling figures in contemporary mystery fiction. In this collection of short mysteries, Tremayne fills in many of the background details of Fidelma and seventh-century Ireland not found in the novels, and weaves his always-beguiling mix of history and mystery. **
Read online
  • 452
Sister Fidelma 20 - The Dove of Death

Sister Fidelma 20 - The Dove of Death

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

In A.D. 670, an Irish merchant ship is attacked by a pirate vessel off the southern coast of the Breton peninsula. Merchad, the ship’s captain, and Bressal, a prince from the Irish kingdom of Muman, are killed in cold blood after they have surrendered. Among the other passengers who manage to escape the slaughter are Fidelma of Cashel and her faithful companion, Brother Eadulf. Once safely ashore, Fidelma—sister to the King of Muman and an advocate of the Brehon law courts—is determined to bring the killers to justice, not only because her training demands it but also because one of the victims was her cousin. The only clue to the killer’s identity is the symbol of the dove on the attacking ship’s sails, a clue that leads her on a dangerous quest to confront the man known as The Dove of Death.**
Read online
  • 450
Sister Fidelma 12 - The Haunted Abbot

Sister Fidelma 12 - The Haunted Abbot

Peter Tremayne

Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy

In December of 666 A.D., Fidelma of Cashel and her companion Brother Eadulf, having completed their business with the Archbishop of Canterbury, make one final journey before returning to Ireland. At the insistence of Brother Botulf, a childhood friend of Eadulf, they detour from their trip to Eadulf's home village and make their way to Aldred's Abbey. Arriving at midnight on the night of the old pagan festival of Yule, as requested, they find Botulf's dead body - his head caved in by a blunt instrument. As Fidelma and Eadulf soon learn, however, murder isn't the only danger which faces those in the abbey. The ghost of a young woman haunts the cloister shadows, a ghost which closely resembles the Abbot's dead wife. Now it will require all of Fidelma's skill as an advocate of the Brehon Courts to unravel the mystery and uncover the truth behind these events before those secrets take yet another life.
Read online
  • 428
183