The Spider's Web [Hardcover]

Peter Tremayne (Author)

Book Description

Series: Celtic Mysteries | Publication Date: June 1, 1999

In the spring of 666 A.D., Sister Fidelma is summoned to the small Irish village of Araglin. An advocate of the Brehon law courts as well as a religieuse, she is to investigate the murder of the local chieftain. While traveling there with her friend Brother Eadulf, a band of brigands attacks the roadside hostel in which they are staying and attempts to burn them out. While Fidelman and Eadulf manage to beat back their attackers, this incident is only the first in a series that troubles them. When they arrive at Araglin, they find out that the chieftain was murdered in the middle of the night, and next to his body, a local deaf-mute man was found holding the bloody knife that killed him.

While everyone else seems convinced that the man's guilt is obvious, sister Fidelma is not so sure. As she investigates, she's convinced that there is something happening in the seemingly quiet town--something that everyone is trying very hard to keep from her. In what may be the most challenging and confusing situation that she has yet faced, Fidelma must somehow uncover the truth behind the chieftain's murderer and find out what is really going on beneath the quiet surface of this rural town.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rich with Irish lore, Tremayne's fifth entry in his Sister Fidelma series (following The Subtle Serpent) introduces readers to further Celtic law, religion and mores in a multilayered search for a cold-blooded killer. In A.D. 668, Fidelma, an advocate in the law courts of Ireland, is sent by her brother, the king of Muman, to investigate the murder of a Celtic chieftain. Though a blind, deaf mute named M?en was found holding a bloody knife near the chieftain's corpse, Fidelma and her Saxon friend Eadulf are not convinced that the man is guilty. For one thing, M?en is also supposed to have killed the chieftain's sister, who raised M?en since he was a babe, and Fidelma finds it hard to believe that in one night the blind deaf-mute would slay the two people in his compound who had befriended him. As Fidelma and Eadulf scrutinize the evidence, they cast about for other suspects among the chieftain's family and subjects. They find a daughter who hated her father and quickly took power after his death, a wife who scorned her husband, a cleric whose religion leans toward Roman practices and a wealthy cousin who assumed that he was the chieftain's heir. Despite several threats to their lives, the sleuthing sister and her sidekick persist and finally ferret out the culprit. In painstaking detail, Tremayne follows Fidelma's careful analysis of the facts while spicing the narrative with asides on the battle between Roman Catholic and Celtic views of theology and law. Though the secondary characters lack complexity, Fidelma's own is strong enough to carry the story, albeit slowly, to its finale.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

While most of seventh-century Europe was shrouded in intellectual darkness, Ireland enjoyed a period of unprecedented enlightenment. During this era, Irish universities flourished and women were accorded the same rights, protections, and professional responsibilities as men. As an advocate of the seventh-century Brehon courts, Tremayne's Sister Fedelma, a legal scholar and expert in both criminal and civil codes, is once again charged with the task of gathering and assessing the evidence in a perplexing murder case. When Eber, chieftain of the rural outpost of Araglin, is brutally stabbed to death, Fedelma's brother, the king of Muman, requests that she undertake an investigation and see that justice is dispensed. Though most of Eber's clansmen are eager to implicate a defenseless deaf-mute in the homicide, Fedelma exposes an array of suspects and motives. As she delves deeper into the past, she uncovers a shocking family secret and a tangled web of hatred, deceit, and greed. Margaret Flanagan

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312205899
• ISBN-13: 978-0312205898
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,988,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Tremayne is the fiction pseudonym of Peter Berresford Ellis, a renowned Celtic scholar who has written over 30 books on the Ancient Celts and the Irish. As Tremayne, he is best known for his stories and novels featuring 7th century Irish religieuse Fidelma of Cashel. He lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Which Age is the Dark One?, December 12, 2000

By 

Sheldon S. Kohn - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spider's Web (Paperback)

Peter Tremayne presents us with an admirable protagonist in the figure of Sister Fidelma, a nun as well as an officer of the ancient Irish courts. Tremayne's didactic purpose becomes somewhat tiresome in the narrative, as Sister Fidelma repeatedly stops to explain Irish custom and law to Brother Edulf, her sidekick from England. However, The Spider's Web ultimately succeeds in presenting us with an interesting mystery set in a land more foreign than any of us could ever hope to find.

As the plot unfolds, the reader meets a fascinating cast of characters who live in seventh-century Ireland. In Tremayne's picture, this was a cultured, ordered society with many virtues that we would love to have in our world. Equal rights for women is a given, as is protection for those who are infirm or disabled. Succession was based on merit, not on mere order of birth. Christianity as practiced by these Irish was an embracing, accepting creed miles away from Augustine's influence. This is the genteel time we encounter, and it is not dark at all.

Yet, even in this wonderful society there is plenty of malfeasance and treachery. In this tale, we follow Sister Fidelma as she investigates a murder in the Irish countryside. As the plot unfolds, prejudices are cast aside and the only certain thing is that the truth is not obvious.

I enjoyed reading this book and learning a bit about how ancient Ireland might have been. We are fortunate to have a guide to a land that many of us never before knew existed.

I hope that there will be many more mysteries for Sister Fidelma to investigate, and I will go along for the ride each time.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining Celtic historical mystery, June 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Spider's Web (Hardcover)

In the middle of seventh century Ireland, King Colgu sends his sibling, Sister Fidelma, to Araglin to investigate the murder of the local chieftain Eber. A witness saw Moen, a deaf mute, holding the murder weapon, a knife, near the corpse. Also killed is Eber's sister Teafa.

Fidelma accompanied by Brother Eadulf travel to the crime scene. They quickly learn that the villagers believe Moen killed the two victims in a fit of rage. Fidelma has problems with that theory because the two deceased showed kindness towards the prime suspect. Teafa raised Moen as if he was her child. The two sleuths begin to wonder who had motives and would most benefit by the deaths of Eber and Teafa. However, no one seems to want to cooperate. Disruptions, sometimes nearly fatal, appears to be the prime intent of the townsfolk. Still, Fidelma and Eadulf continue to search for the killer.

SPIDER'S WEB, the fifth Sister Fidelma novel, is an engaging Celtic mystery. The story line is very intriguing when tidbits of seventh century Irish culture are presented and fully woven into the plot. Fidelma is a fully developed character, whose motives center on her religion and her belief in justice as expected of an advocate of the law courts. The villagers seem a bit thin, but fans of historical mysteries will receive enjoyment from Peter Tremayne's entire series.

Harriet Klausner

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fidelma and Eadulf Shine Again. . ., December 1, 2001

By 

Mary Jacco - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spider's Web (Paperback)

This is the fifth Sister Fidelma book I have read, and the highest complement I can pay Peter Tremayne is that I've started reading my sixth. As a fan of medieval fantasy and Arthurian literature, I find the Sister Fidelma books right up my alley. Mr. Tremayne captures the spirit and essence of the times and turns them advantage in telling his tales. I truly feel I have been transported to 7th Century Ireland! Mr. Tremayne's other life as a Celtic historian and scholar gives these books a realism they might not otherwise have.

"The Spider's Web" continues in the vein of the previous novels. Sister Fidelma is called in as an advocate to ensure justice is done in the case of a murder. In the spirit of all great detective series', things are not what they seem. The good sister delves deeper and deeper into the web, this time, as in others, with her sidekick Brother Eaudulf. More often than not, Fidelma and Eaudulf make enemies as they draw closer and closer to the truth. The web grows curiouser and curiouser until the final denouement. Simple, not particularly original, but still effective! And the plot in this novel is indeed a tangled spider's web.

To pat myself on the back, I was able to solve this one on my own, before having it spelled out to me. But, am I ready to leave Florida to become a 7th Century Irish religious sleuth. I don't think so, but Sister Fidelma is the only person who could actually make me consider it!!