Reviews

Tod bei Vollmond by Peter Tremayne

rebcamuse's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

"...you would do well to remember that this land is not separated from the rest of the world, but shares the sins of humanity in equal proportion. "(137)

These words, uttered by the character of Brother Dangila, are but a sample of the increased depth in this installment of the Sister Fidelma series. Brother Dangila and two of his colleagues are three "strangers" from the Kingdom of Aksum, which reached its greatest power in the sixth century, and had begun to decline in the time of Fidelma. The Kingdom occupied what is now Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, and parts of modern Sudan, if internet maps are correct. The book (rather gently) brings in themes of racism and xenophobia, and it the quote above is one moment where even Fidelma must confront her implicit biases.

The plot develops rather slowly, but there's a lot more nuance built into Fidelma's character, not only in the way she uses her role as a dálaigh as a coping mechanism as she is

experiencing postpartum depression

but also how she really is interrogating her multiple identities as an emblem of jurisprudence, sister to the king, and now,

a mother (apologies if you read the series out of order)

. There are perhaps a few too many characters and families to keep track of, but most intriguing are Liag the apothecary and Conrí, war chief of the Uí Fidgente. And there are, of course, the customary hothead soldiers/warriors that seem to feature in all the books. The plot has many twists and turns, but generally was not enough to hold my interest. Luckily, I was so surprised by the next-level themes in this particular book, that I kept going. The book ends (the epilogue, anyway) on a cliffhanger...the mark of a true and secure serial!

It has been rewarding to read the series in order because one gets the sense that Tremayne is trying things on for size. I hope the greater character development and depth continues to be part of this series.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia and Racism

Minor: Mental illness

jamei's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

roshk99's review against another edition

4.0

Tremayne's complex plots are always enjoyable and the expert unraveling by Fidelma leaves the reader satisfied and enthralled

martydah's review against another edition

5.0

I read the first two Sister Fidelma mysteries a few years ago and am glad to pick it up again. If you haven't read these books, Sister Fidelma is indeed a nun in 7th century Ireland, but the Irish Catholic church is quite independent of Rome. Fidelma is allowed to marry and, as a sister of a chieftan, serve as a judge and investigator for Muman (Munster). In this particular case, she travels further southward to assist her cousin Becc, chieftan of the Cinal na Aeda, in unraveling the mystery around the murder of three young women during the so-called "Badger's Moon."

The local people blame the visiting monks from Greece who are under the protection of hospitality at the Abbey Finnbarr. Fidelma discovers that one of them is guilty of transgressing on that hospitality at the behest of Becc's tanist Accobran, but is not guilty of the girls' murders. That crime has been committed by one who is accused by the first victim's father, a fact that Fidelma and her companion (husband) Brother Eadulf do not recognize until much later.

Through all of this, Fidelma and Eadulf are struggling with their own mystery: why is Fidelma unhappy when confined to their home in Cashel with their new baby son Alchu? Eadulf wants answers, but this is a puzzle Fidelma may not be able solve to the satisfaction of either.

The author, Peter Tremayne, is a scholar of Celtic history and always provides a very good overview of the historical circumstances in which Fidelma and Eadulf work. He also provides a pronunciation key to the names of the people and places. This is an incredibly readable and satisfying series for anyone who loves historical mysteries.

amanda31's review against another edition

3.0

An enjoyable book, good mystery (I can never figure out whodunit though). Its a place and period of time I'm not familiar with and I found that fascinating. The main characters seemed a bit flat, but maybe because I'm missing some background? I've read that you should be able to read these stand alone, but I'm not convinced. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go back and start at the beginning of the series!

horseyhayls's review against another edition

4.0

Arghhh, that's a giant cliff-hanger! Give me the next book!

jenniedee's review against another edition

2.0

Dry, boring, repetitive (how many times can you say that Eadulf isn't a great horseman?), and also... boring. I enjoyed many other books in this series years ago, but now I can't tell if I just had bad taste or if this one is that much worse.