Absolution by Murder (A Sister Fidelma Mystery) (Mystery of Ancient Ireland) (Paperback)

by Peter Tremayne (Author) "The man had not been dead long..." (more)
Key Phrases: domus hospitale, mother abbess, abbey buildings, Sister Fidelma, Abbess Hilda, Sister Athelswith (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This immensely appealing launch of a new series is set in seventh-century Ireland, which in Tremayne's rendering is a golden age of enlightenment and of total equality for women. Such narrative stumbling blocks as an abundance of stereotypical characters and much more dynastic trivia, ecclesiastical and secular history than can be absorbed are offset by the vigorous, intriguing puzzle posed by a series of murders and by Sister Fidelma, the tale's brilliant and beguiling heroine. An ecclesiastical conclave to settle major divisions between the Roman and Celtic branch of Christianity is held at Whitby in 664. When a major proponent of the Celtic way, the Abbess of Kildare, is murdered, Sister Fidelma, a fellow Celtic follower and legally trained scholar, is asked to investigate. She is paired with her ideological opposite, Brother Eadulf, on the Roman side, who is shrewd, highly educated and immediately smitten with the outspoken sister. The intellectual and physical sparks that are ignited between these two clerics (in an age before celibacy) light up the pages, and when two monks are killed and the malevolence thickens, the book becomes difficult to put down. It is reassuring to read that Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf will reappear... next time in Rome.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
In a new entry in a mystery series set in medieval England, a whodunit set in seventh-century Ireland finds young Sister Fidelma of Kildare searching for the killer of a renowned Celtic abbess at a Church convocation. Reprint. PW. "

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Signet (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451192990
• ISBN-13: 978-0451192998
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,656 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sister Fidelma beats them all!, August 26, 1999

By A Customer

I stumbled across the first "Sister Fidelma-mystery" quite by accident; and I have never before had a more lucky discovery! Sister Fidelma is Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and Father Brown all rolled into one as well as being the female equivalent to the role played by Sean Connery in "name of the rose". Tremayne writes in a style, which can only be compared to that of Agatha Christie, - with one MAJOR difference though: Where Agatha Christie often let her victims die a hoffifying death by poisoning; Tremayne displays a taste for variation: The first victim in this particular book thus meets her untimely death by throatcutting, another one is drowned in wine, and a third is hanged. I very much like the way Tremayne entertains as well as teaches at the same time. While I read this book, I learned more about the Irish legalsystem in 7th century Ireland, than I ever did at university... I have now read all but one "Sister Fidelma-mystery", and I hope that I will not be reading the last but merely the latest!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slow Start for Sassy Nun Mystery, July 25, 2002

By	Rebecca M (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews

I picked up Absolution by Murder in a used bookstore, thinking it would be a good airplane read. I soon found out that my level of ignorance pertaining to medieval Ireland was only going to make this mystery an irksome chore on an airplane!

Setting it aside to give it the time it deserves was a much better idea! Although initially slow and somewhat bogged down in the finer historical detail, I was soon swept into Sister Fidelma's world where nuns are NOT silent, men of the cloth are not always good, and politics are NEVER petty.

The characters are vivid, but Tremayne never gives away too much so that the "villians" aren't who they appear to be. He tempts the romantic with the introduction of Brother Eadulf but never succumbs to cheap romance or idle folly. The mysterious cultivation of friendship between Fidelma and Eadulf gives the most personal view of the protagonist(s).

The multiple murders keep you guessing to the end. The story picks up speed in the last half and is indeed VERY HARD TO PUT DOWN!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Relive the glory of the ancient Celts on the hand of Fidelma, July 16, 2003

By	Karina A. Suarez (Walt Disney World, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In the first Sister Fidelma mystery, writer Peter Ellis - writing under the pen name of Peter Tremayne - takes us on a fantastic and memorable journey to the time of the rivalries between the ancient Celt and Saxon tribes of England. The mystery is set against the historical background of the debate between the Celtic and Roman Church factions at Whitby back in AD 664. Oswy, the current King of Northumbria, has called this big assembly at Streoneshalh Abbey, a place directed by his cousin, the Abbess Hilda. Important representatives and religieuses from all over Ireland, Britain and Rome are arriving at the Abbey with the purpose of determining once and for all which Church the Kingdom of Northumbria will follow. Sister Fidelma, an advocate of the courts of Ireland, is also in attendance. When she arrives, she meets with her long time friend, Abbess Étain of Kildare. Known for her culture and eloquence, she is to be the opener speaker for the Celtic faction. However, when the debate opens, Abbess Étain's seat is empty. A few moments later, she is found dead in her cubiculum, her throat slashed. It is immediately suspected that the opposition would be the culprit, but is it? And more importantly, how to prove it?

The King of Northumbria, on learning about Fidelma's position as a dálaigh of the Irish Courts, urges her to bring the murderer to justice. Since rumours are already starting to circulate, no time is to be lost. The country is on the brink of Civil War. Fidelma agrees, and in so doing she accepts the condition imposed by the King of having the crime investigated in conjunction with a representative of the Roman faction, a Saxon by the name of Brother Eadulf. Thus forms one of the most famous partnerships in history for the purpose of solving crimes. Fidelma and Eadulf, even though at first they resent each other, grow attached to one another in the end. They feel a great affinity and are a perfect match. As the Manchester Evening News put it, Sister Fidelma is "quite a girl." Eadulf is delighted in his task of a companion who offers support, but is clearly Fidelma who decides on the best course of action. The pair work smoothly together and, in the end, they both realize how much one supported the other.

The historical setting, the descriptions of the Abbey and the customs of the period deserve a mention of their own. Ellis is a scholar of the period, having written numerous volumes about the ancient Celts, the Druids and other early tribes; and one can tell he knows his task as if he had actually lived in the period. I found fascinating the fact that in the ancient Irish Church celibacy was not contemplated, or that women in ancient Ireland had as many possibilities to hold a Public Office rank as men. Also unlike nowadays, a Public position was based on merit, not heredity.

This is a most promising series that I would like to see made into a mini-series of some sort in the future, such as Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael. There's a lot of detail and material to cover, and I cannot wait for the second installment, where, as per the end of this one, Sister Fidelma finds herself fortuitously on her road to Rome... accompanying Brother Eadulf's party.