The Monk Who Vanished: A Celtic Mystery

Rating:
Summary: This was worth waiting for!
Review: As an avid reader of the Sister Fidelma books I was more than pleasantly surprised by The Monk Who Vanished. It kept me guessing from the start with unexpected twists and turns.

Fidelma's world is brought to life in this seventh installment in the mystery series. This is a highly personal adventure for her with her brother's kingdom at stake. As always there is more than meets the eye in this adventure. With all of the sub-stories Tremayne keeps you guessing as to whether it will all come together in the end or if they are separet mysteries unto themselves. With everything thrown at her, Fidelma keeps her cool and saves the day with her wit and incredibly sharp mind.

This was a story well worth waiting for. I eagerly await the next installment!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and enjoyable mystery
Review: The Monk who vanished is a mystery set in 6-7th century Ireland. It is very detailed and brings the reader easily to this ancient time without sounding like a history or anthropology lesson. The mystery stroy is very well developed and has unexpected twists and turns that are justified and well put together.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and enjoyable mystery
Review: The Monk who vanished is a mystery set in 6-7th century Ireland. It is very detailed and brings the reader easily to this ancient time without sounding like a history or anthropology lesson. The mystery stroy is very well developed and has unexpected twists and turns that are justified and well put together.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent historical mystery
Review: The seventh century in Europe became known as the Dark Ages yet Ireland remained a beacon of light where learning and enlightenment continued unabated. Rulers from around the known world sent their leading scholars to learn so that they could return home and educate the leaders. Women were treated as equals and even held office in the church. Sister Fidelma, daughter of a king and sister of the current monarch, is both a religieuse and an advocate of the law.

Long time enemies the Prince of Vi Fidgente and Colgu of Cashel the King of Muman seek a truce. As they near Colgu's home, an assassin hits both men with arrows. The Prince's men kill the culprit before anyone can question him. The King and the Prince accuse each other of duplicity and attempted murder. Unless Sister Fidelma can prove otherwise, her regal brother will be considered guilty and punished under Irish law. However, the clues take her to the Abbey of Imleach where a monk and relics connected to the case are missing with little hope of eminent discovery.

THE MONK WHO VANISHED is a fascinating mystery filled with unexpected twists that often lead to false clues and the wonderful Sister Fidelma, sleuth extraodinaire. However, the true beauty of the tale lies in the descriptions of seventh century Irish life as seen through the eyes of the religious and aristocratic leaders. Peter Tremayne is a gifted storyteller who provides his audience with a vivid view as if the reader is actually there. Even after a delightful decade of the Sister's stories, the latest entry remains fresh and hopefully means the start of another decade of tremendous historical mysteries from Mr. Tremayne.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: The Monk Who Vanished
Review: The stakes are high indeed in this seventh installment in the Sister Fidelma mystery series, because this time she is fighting to protect her brother's claim to the kingship of Murman.

The Ui Fidgente, a major clan of Murman, have been adversaries of Cashel for a long time, and indeed they have long challenged Cahsel's right to the kingship of Murman, refusing to pay tribute. Now however the current prince of Ui Fidgente, has decided to put all the bad blood between the two clans behind him and to negotiate a treaty of peace with Cashel. To this end, he and his retinue have come to Cashel in a gesture of goodwill in order to hammer out some form of an agreement. However, just as the two princes are about to exchange greetings, an unknown bowman shoots at them, wounding both men. He is later found dead, wearing the emblem of the Golden Chain, which identifies him as a member of Cashel's elite bodyguard. This proves to be a bad sign for Fidelma's brother, for if he is found guilty of the attempt of the prince of Ui Fidengente's life, the kingship of Murman would then be forfeit to the Ui Fidengente! Another bad sign: in the abbey at Imleach, the relics of the holy man Ailbe, has been stolen. Legend has it that if ever the relics were stolen then the kingship of Murman would fall from Cashel and chaos would ensue. It looks as if the two incidents are tied and that Fidelma will have to do some rather nifty detective work to discover who exactly is behind this move to take the throne away from her brother and start a war.

This historical mystery series is a really good one even if Peter Tremayne's writing style is a little to dense and dry. However he has struck gold in his creation of Sister Fidelma. In Fidelma, Tremanyne has created a brilliant and charming heroine, with a thirst to see justice done and set things right. The plot of this mystery novel is intriguing and a little convoluted, full of red herrings and sub-plots that have sometimes very little to do with the actual problem at hand. However the final denouncement where Fidelma finally lays all her cards on the table makes everything worthwhile: the somewhat dry and dense prose, the convoluted plot with all its red herrings, and the somewhat ranting style of communication that nearly everyone save Fidelma and Brother Eadulf seem to employ. A book well worth reading inspite of the few nit-picking problems I had with it.

Rating:
Summary: I Think the Best in this Series!
Review: This book is the best in the series so far. The mystery was very good and kept me guessing until the end. In fact, I had picked another murderer and plotter entirely. Also, Fidelmaa is much more likeable in this series. My main complaint so far was that I really did not like her. She was too haughty and full of herself with an acid tongue. In this book, that seems to change. We meet a much more vulnerable Fidelma, but one who is still as smart as a tack. She finds her way through the morass and one or two red herrings to discover the murderer and to thrwart a very dangerous plot against her brother's kingship. She sets out to find out who arranged an assisination of her brother and a rival king who is supposedly trying to make peace with her brother's kingdom, and discovers a missing monk from a neighbouring abbey, an illegal mining operation and a very dangerous political plot. Great stuff!

Rating:
Summary: I Think the Best in this Series!
Review: This book is the best in the series so far. The mystery was very good and kept me guessing until the end. In fact, I had picked another murderer and plotter entirely. Also, Fidelmaa is much more likeable in this series. My main complaint so far was that I really did not like her. She was too haughty and full of herself with an acid tongue. In this book, that seems to change. We meet a much more vulnerable Fidelma, but one who is still as smart as a tack. She finds her way through the morass and one or two red herrings to discover the murderer and to thrwart a very dangerous plot against her brother's kingship. She sets out to find out who arranged an assisination of her brother and a rival king who is supposedly trying to make peace with her brother's kingdom, and discovers a missing monk from a neighbouring abbey, an illegal mining operation and a very dangerous political plot. Great stuff!