Act of Mercy (Sister Fidelma Mysteries) (Paperback)

by Peter Tremayne (Author) "Colla, the tavernkeeper, tugged on the leather reins to halt the two sturdy donkeys which had been patiently hauling his overladen cart along the track..." (more)
Key Phrases: stem deck, pilgrim ship, steering oar, Sister Muirgel, Brother Tola, Toca Nia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The literary successor to Ellis Peters's Brother Cadfael." -- Southern Star, Ireland

Review
"The literary successor to Ellis Peters's Brother Cadfael." (Southern Star, Ireland)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Signet (June 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451209087
• ISBN-13: 978-0451209085
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #144,147 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Murder on the high seas, July 16, 2003

By	B. Clothier (Tacoma, Wa United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Act of Mercy is set in the year 666. The novel's protaganist, Sister Fidelma finds herself on a pilgrimage to the Iberian Peninsula. While on the journey, a series of murders are commited on the high seas that Fidelma must solve. In addition, her ex-lover Cian is also traveling with the group of pilgrims and becomes a prime suspect in the crimes. Fidelma must overcome her personal feelings towards Cian if she if to find the true culpret to the crimes, and bring them to justice.

This novel does a great job balancing history with murder, adventure and internal struggle. Some of the high points of Act of Mercy include the Historical Note at the beginning of the book that explains some of the events, people, and circumstances that surround the characters involved in the story. The descriptions and focus on the religious and political climate of the era is also a high point for this novel. In addition, there are a few scenes in this book where the author brings together all the suspects into one room for interogation. This form of detective work done by Fidelma is indicative of such classic novels written by the likes of Agatha Christie and Ngao Marsh.

The plot of this book was solid, but one of the deaths was a bit unconvincing. Also, the romantic angle of the book was a bit tiresome at times. Too often mystery writers feel the need to give their characters a love interest as a means of exploring that characters personal life. Quite frankly, the trick is over-used and there is nothing remotely orginal or engaging about Fidelma's love life. Tremayne does a much better job of fleshing out Fidelma when she is focused on her choice of career, her duty the church, and her passion for seeking the truth in crimes. This is not to suggest that she should not have a love life, but many readers who are fans of historical mysteries are more interested in reading how the characters act and react to the setting in which the author has placed them, not affairs of the heart.

Overall, Tremayne is successful at having his characters act and react to the historical setting he has placed them in. The shotcomings of this book are common to many mystery novels, but not so severe that it ruins the book. In fact, the novel was quite good and gives promise to the rest of the series.

About my grading system: I interpret Amazon.com's five-star ranking system as follows: 1 star = far below standards, 2 stars = below standards, 3 stars = meets standards, 4 stars = exceeds standards, 5 stars = far exceeds standards.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best so far!, January 19, 2005

By	John D. Culbertson (Shippensburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My wife bought about 30 books for a few bucks at a church yard sale. Many of Peter Tremayne's books were in with the ones she purchased. Several months later I began reading them. They were good.
I enjoy the mysteries. I love Tremayne's viewpoint on the Irish Catholic Church. His characters are broad, but nonetheless enjoyable.
However I found Act of Mercy to be the best title so far. It moves quickly and engages the reader better than the previous books. This is not great literature, but it's pretty darn cool to read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Ship-Lover's Mystery, July 5, 2003

By A Customer

I highly recommend this book to lovers of ships and Celtic history. The writing style is a significant improvement from Tremayne's Shroud for the Archbishop - those who were disappointed with the quality of the writing and characterization in that book may now want to give the series another try. Although the author's biases still come through at times, they are more often hinted than shouted (which was a problem for Shroud), and the characters are considerably fuller and richer.