The Spider's Web [Import] [Hardcover]

Peter Tremayne (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 366 pages
• Publisher: Headline (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747216525
• ISBN-13: 978-0747216520
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,076,296 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!!