The Sister Fidelma Novels, 1-3: Absolution by Murder, Shroud for the Archbishop, and Suffer Little Children

by Peter Tremayne

Peter Tremayne's Fidelma of Cashel mysteries, set in ancient Ireland, will delight readers with their confounding puzzles and brilliant characters. Here together for the first time are the first three books in the series. Absolution by In A.D. 664, someone murders the Abbess Etain, a supporter of the Celtic way, during the synod between the Roman and Celtic churches. Sister Fidelma, of the Celtic Church, is assigned to use her legal training and mental smarts to find out who wanted the abesss dead, and why. Along the way she is paired up with Brother Eadulf, who belongs to the Roman Church, and it becomes immediately apparent that there might be more between them, as they work together to find the killer and prevent civil war. Shroud for the Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf travel to Rome to deliver a message to his Holiness. But then the Archbishop is found dead, strangled in his chambers, and a monk is observed fleeing the scene of the crime. Convinced of the monk’s innocence, Fidelma pledges to help reveal the truth, but instead she stumbles across far too few clues, an abundance of motives, and a trail that is strewn with bodies. Suffer Little Fidelma, sister of Colgu, who has just become the king of Muman, the largest of the five Irish kingdoms, is tasked with solving the mystery of who murdered the Venerable Dacan, a highly respected elder from a nearby kingdom. This death has far-reaching implications for the peace between the kingdoms, and Fidelma must work to find out what happened to Dacan before a bloody war breaks out between the many factions and families of sixth century Ireland.

862 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 22, 2016

About the author

Peter Berresford Ellis (born 10 March 1943) is a historian, literary biographer, and novelist who has published over 90 books to date either under his own name or his pseudonyms Peter Tremayne and Peter MacAlan. He has also published 95 short stories. His non-fiction books, articles and academic papers have made him acknowledged as an authority on Celtic history and culture. As Peter Tremayne, he is the author of the international bestselling Sister Fidelma mystery series. His work has appeared in 25 languages.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dialog is way too fussy, as are the character descriptions. I wanted to like these, but nah.

[Michael Wojciehoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Northumbria, Roma, home. Murder, strangulation, abhorrent. The first two books easy to read enjoyable. Third- long winded, unimaginable, tough.

[Kate Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historically accurate mystery stories starring a unique woman sleuth. The author is a master of Irish history and cleverly and smoothly blends this knowledge with a brain crunching mystery to solve, by his star character, Sister Fidelma. I love this whole series and am now reading it for a second time from volume 1-34.

[Martavinhais]

I only read Shroud for the Archbishop and loved every minute of it....

[Maria Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three great novels

A wonderful character, Sister Fidelma has all the right attributes: smart, independent and full of surprises. Can't wait to read the next one