Shapeshifter's Lair

by Peter Tremayne

Overview

Sister Fidelma returns in the thirty-first Celtic mystery by Peter Tremayne.

Ireland. AD 672. The body of a dead man has been found on a lonely mountain road and taken to the isolated abbey of Gleann Da Loch for a proper burial. The abbot quickly identifies him as Brehon Brocc, who had been travelling to the abbey on a secret mission with Princess Gelgeis and her steward. When news reaches Colgu, King of Muman, that his betrothed, Princess Gelgeis, has disappeared, Fidelma with her trusted companions, Eadulf and Enda, enter the hostile Kingdom of Laigin in search of the truth.

But one death is quickly followed by another and warnings of demonic shapeshifters and evil lurking in the mountains must be taken seriously. Are there really brigands stealing gold and silver from the ancient mines? And are rumours of a war between the Kingdoms of Laigin and Muman to be believed? As Fidelma searches for answers, she must do everything in her power to avoid danger and death in a land where no one is to be trusted . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780727889645
Publisher:	Severn House
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Series:	A Sister Fidelma Mystery , #31
Edition description:	First US Publication
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	779,596
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Peter Tremayne is the pseudonym of a well-known authority on the ancient Celts who has utilised his knowledge of the Brehon law system and seventh-century Irish society to create a new concept in detective fiction. He is the author of thirty previous mysteries featuring Sister Fidelma.

Editorial Reviews

★ 07/13/2020

Tremayne returns to top form in his atmospheric 31st whodunit set in seventh-century Ireland (after 2019’s Blood in Eden). Law court advocate Sister Fidelma, who’s the sister of King Colgú of Muman, is frustrated. After an unsuccessful effort to become Chief Brehon, or legal arbiter, for her brother’s regional kingdom, she’s been reduced to serving as the monarch’s legal adviser, relegated to studying new decisions from an appellate court. A fraught murder mystery relieves her boredom. A colleague, Brehon Brocc, who was travelling with Princess Gelgéis, Colgú’s fiancée, was found lying on a mountain track in an area rumored to be haunted by shape-shifting beings. Someone first shot Brocc with an arrow before slitting his throat, and the discovery of his corpse coincides with the disappearance of the princess, who was instrumental in foiling a plot to dethrone Colgú, and the princess’s steward. Fidelma investigates, only to find that a key witness, the peddler who came across Brocc’s body, has been killed. Tremayne expertly incorporates historical and legal details of the time into the suspenseful plot. This impressive volume bodes well for future series entries. Agent: Euan Thorneycroft, A.M. Heath (U.K.). (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Tremayne does a good job immersing readers in an unfamiliar world" Publishers Weekly on Bloodmoon

From the Publisher

2020-06-17
An accomplished advocate of the law courts continues her detective adventures in seventh-century Ireland.

Fidelma, her husband, Eadulf, and the warrior Enda leave Muman to find Princess Gelgéis, her brother King Colgu’s betrothed. It’s a dangerous undertaking, for they must cross into hostile Laigin territory. Gelgéis and her steward vanished on a trip to seek advice from her cousin, the Abbot of the Abbey of the Blessed Cáemgen. Cétach, a peddler, arrived at the abbey with the body of Brehon Brocc, who was traveling with Gelgéis but was found, his throat cut, on a mountain trail. The only clues the body provides, aside from the fact that the killer was almost certainly left-handed, are an arrow and a small pebble found on his corpse. On a trip to a nearby village, the sleuths find Cétach in his hovel with his throat cut. Intending to report the death to the local Brehon, Fidelma finds him absent and his assistant, her law school classmate Beccnat, surprisingly hostile. The three set off with a local guide to The Cuala, where Dicuil Dóna, an uncle to the Laigin ruler, controls valuable mining interests in the mountains. Captured by Dicuil Dóna’s warriors, Fidelma agrees to investigate who’s stealing gold and silver from his mines and for what purpose. After many false trails, she finds enough proof to stage a trial where all is dramatically revealed.

One of the best cases for the complex, enchanting Fidelma, whose adventures, rich in historical detail, rarely disappoint.

Kirkus Reviews