The Celtic Riddle (Archaeological Mysteries, No. 4) (Hardcover)

by Lyn Hamilton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
After antiquing sojourns in the Yucatán (The Xibalba Murders), Malta (The Maltese Goddess), and Peru (The Moche Warrior), Toronto shopkeeper Lara McClintoch finds herself in County Kerry, Ireland. Lara, who has a good eye for antiques and an excellent eye for murder, is serving as moral support for her friend and employee Alex Stewart, who must attend the reading of an old friend's will. Eamon Byrne, formidable in life and maddeningly evasive in death, has decided to make the division of his estate an occasion for familial cooperation and goodwill. Well-versed in Irish mythology, Byrne leaves each person gathered at the reading a sealed clue to a mysterious treasure, a posthumous plot to force his family to mend the rifts between them. Too bad his querulous offspring aren't interested--but Lara is, particularly after learning that the clues are lines from the "Song of Amairgen," an ancient Celtic poem. As she, Alex, Rob Luczka (a Mountie along for the ride), and Rob's daughter Jennifer puzzle through the clues, the game turns lethal when members of the Byrne household are found dead.

Hamilton's premise is an intriguing one; the process of deciphering--metaphorically if not literally--ancient texts should challenge the reader and allow the author to weave artfully between past and present. But the novel is crippled by what seems to be an acute lack of interest on Hamilton's part: she makes no effort to justify Lara's deductions, which often seem to be the result of divine intervention, and doesn't address at least half of the clues, merely assuring the reader that Lara and her cronies have solved them. Hamilton's repetition also handicaps her text; in a novel with so little narrative complexity, pausing to remind the reader of past plot developments is at best unnecessary and at worst infuriating.

Lyn Hamilton's first novel, The Xibalba Murders, was nominated by the Crime Writers of Canada Association for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel; one hopes that Hamilton's next archaeological outing will better fulfill the potential implicit in that nomination. The Celtic Riddle, unfortunately, is probably not worth solving.

From Library Journal
Toronto antiques dealer and amateur sleuth Lara McClintock (The Moche Warrior) accompanies co-worker Alex -and two other friends - to Ireland for the reading of a video will. Alex's bequest is a cliff-top cottage and one of seven clues that, if put together, lead to an "item of great value." Depairing of the teamwork needed from the deceased's greedy and dysfunctional family, Alex and Lara determined to find so-called treasure, spurred on by the suspicious deaths of a servant and gardener. The well-drawn characters' foray through Irish countryside and Celtic myth willdelight readers.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1st edition (February 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042517235X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425172353
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,078,672 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 4 in The Archaeological Mystery Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This mystery authort is a storytelling genius, February 7, 2000

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Lara McClintoch owns Greenhalgh and McClintoch, an antiques and design store in Toronto. She loves traveling the globe seeking unique items to sell in her shop. When Lara is on the road, her friend Alex Stewart runs the store.

In turn, Lana accompanies Alex to Ireland for the reading of the will of the recently deceased Eamon Byrne, a wealthy businessman. Alex and the rest of the Byrne family learn that Eamon wants them to take part in a treasure hunt that the he hoped would finally bring his fractured relatives together. Each person receives a different clue in which teamwork will lead to the treasure. Eamon's dream fails because some of his relatives refuse to work with other recipients of the clues. Someone takes matters into their own hands by killing clue-holders. Lara decides that finding the treasure is the only way to stop the murders. She puts together a team of locals to help her, but now the culprit is aware of a new threat.

Superb storyteller, Lyn Hamilton imbues her fascinating plot with myths and legends of Eire that explains the call of Erin. THE CELTIC RIDDLE is a wonderful tale starring a brave heroine who remains loyal to her friends even when danger appears. The sharp mystery has many suspects that makes it nearly impossible to identify the villain. With this excellent archeological mystery and her previous tales (see THE XIBALBA MURDERS, THE MALTESE GODDESS, and THE MOCHE WARRIOR) Lyn Hamilton has dug her own niche within the genre.

Harriet Klausner

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Confusing archaeological mystery, June 18, 2000

By	K. L Sadler (Freedom, Pa. USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I've read Ms. Hamilton's mysteries once before. The last one I enjoyed, and though I do enjoy the time and effort put into the background for the story based in Ireland, the book ended up being extremely confusing. I finished it, but didn't find it as well written as the book I had read of hers before. The reason for the presence of the major character being in Ireland was a bit contrived, and the 'clues' were very strained and never seem to come together in any way. It's fine to want to teach more about another country, but this genre is not the way to do it, unless you are will to put a great deal of effort into the background and explanations. I am not sure I will be reading any other books from this particular author in the future because my time is limited for 'fun' books when I have educational/medical books I have to read for my work. When I read something different to get my mind off of my daily work, I still want it to be well-done. This book wasn't. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Failure on all counts, April 12, 2000

By A Customer

As someone of Irish descent and one who has traveled extensively throughout Ireland, I thought this would be a fun read. Sadly, it wasn't. The plot is ridiculously convoluted with no logic whatever to the "clues" and no good explanation as to how they are interpreted. The dialogue is absurd with one character even reduced to speaking backwards for several chapters (and does that ever get annoying)! As to the Irish accents, one can only shake one's head as characters seem to develop it then drop it all in the same sentence. This book, which I honestly had hoped to like, is a real stinker. If you're looking for a good mystery, this isn't it, and if you're looking for a good book with Irish locales and plot, this isn't it either. Don't waste a penny on this one.