Read Series: Sister Fidelma
by Author Peter Tremayne
The Monk Who Vanished (2002)
No. 7 in the Sister Fidelma series.[return][return]I sometimes (no, often) ask myself why I keep up with this series, since it s not particularly well written and its protagonist, Sister Fidelma, is one of the most uninteresting in the genre. What few (and far between) expressions of emotion she ...
Valley of the Shadow (2001)
6th in the Sister Fidelma series.[return][return]I have complained in reviews of Tremayne s characterization of Fidelma, which is the really serious flaw in this series. She comes across as a more or less wooden figure when she s not angry. There s almost nothing about her that is likeable, actua...
The Haunted Abbot (2005)
I've read four of the Sister Fidelma mysteries now. I don't read serial novels very much, and when i do I like to be able to read them out of order. I read this one after the first one because it was the "Christmas" offering in the series. No. 11 in the series, it turned out to be spookier, gritt...
A Prayer for the Damned (2007)
A Prayer for the Damned is the 17th book in Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma series of murder mystery novels set in 7th century Ireland. In this story, an abbot is killed on the eve of Fidelma's wedding to Eadulf. The murder has significant political repercussions, that could in the worst case lea...
The Subtle Serpent (1999)
Peter Tremayne doesn’t play fair in The Subtle Serpent, the fourth installment in the Sister Fidelma series. In Agatha Christie fashion, he doesn’t introduce important potential suspects until late in the game and ultimately fails in communicating the motive for the killing. Yes, he spells out th...
Hemlock at Vespers (2000)
Sister Fidelma-an Eognacht princess and sister to the king of Cashel, a religieuse of the Celtic Church and an advocate of the Brehornn court-is one of the most interesting and compelling figures in contemporary mystery fiction. In this collection of short mysteries, Tremayne fills in many of the...
The Leper's Bell (2006)
A mystery story set in medieval Ireland and featuring a lawyer/sleuth noblewoman, Peter Tremayne's The Leper's Bell is a fascinating and satisfying novel. I enjoyed the setting very much, especially Tremayne's use of actual Irish terms to describe things (he defines them in the text, too) which h...
Absolution by Murder (1997)
In A.D. 664, King Oswy of Northumbria has convened a synod at Whitby to hear debate between the Roman and Celtic Christian churches and decide which shall be granted primacy in his kingdom. At stake is much more than a few disputed points of ritual; Oswy's decision could affect the survival of ei...
Act of Mercy (2003)
Originally published on my blog here in January 2001.The seventh Sister Fidelma mystery is to be the last, as far as I am concerned. I had hoped that with the setting moved away from Ireland the novel would be an improvement on the previous couple in the series, which had got into something of a ...
Shroud for the Archbishop (1998)
The second in a series featuring Sister Fidelma, a 7th century female detective/lawyer (a dalaigh) from Ireland. The setting is Rome with its politicians, merchants, clerics, politicians, soldiers, and pilgrims. The murder takes place in the guest rooms of the Lateran Palace in Rome. There are a ...
Smoke in the Wind (2005)
Smoke in the Wind (Sister Fidelma Mysteries)
Master of Souls (2006)
I have to say, I was a little bored with this one. Mainly because the villain and setting were so strikingly similar to the book immediately previous. And I had the suspects narrowed down to two (one correct) near the very beginning and for the right reasons. On another note, I wish to point o...
Badger's Moon (2006)
I've enjoyed some of Tremayne's early horror novels but this was the first Sister Fidelma story I'd tackled. For those who don't know, the Sister Fidelma books are historical murder mystery novels set in ancient Ireland.This is a fun read. There's no faulting Tremayne's scholarly approach to the ...
Whispers of the Dead (2004)
I'm not usually a fan of short stories, but this sounded interesting, and it was. Sister Fidelma is, in addition to a sister in the Celtic church and the sister of a King, also an advocate in the Brehon courts. She goes where she is needed to investigate and where necessary, represent those accus...
Suffer Little Children (1999)
Suffer the Little Children is both set in a refreshing time period for a mystery (7th century Ireland) and provides a rich environment of violence, intrigue, scholarly pursuit, and ecclesiastical change. I’ve personally just discovered this series of historical mysteries and I am fascinated by t...