Shroud for the Archbishop

While I liked the characters & learning about the religious history of that time period, it included so much historical detail that it impeded a smooth flow of the story line for me. It is more than obvious that the author is "a well-known authority of the ancient Celts." I stumbled over numerous descriptive words that I had to look up, names, especially of the many ancient rulers that I eventually just skipped over in an effort to hang onto the story line. Sister Fidelma is a wonderful character as are all of the ones in the book. The story line is very good with lots of twists, but I feel the historical detail is just too heavy a presence.

"Shroud for the Archbishop" is a superior mystery and a glimpse into the relatively unknown world of 8th century Europe. The characters of Fidelma and her associates are well drawn and have led me to vow to read all the Sr. Fidelma books and short stories.

he author Peter Tremayne obviously has a great knowledge of Ireland in the 7th century and also on the Irish Law of the period. His Sister Fidelma book are attracting what can only be described as a cult following, but they are of interest to anyone who likes historical novels or mysteries. This series of books are set in Ireland in the 7th century, a time when there was total equality for women. The lead character is the beguiling Sister Fidelma. She is a brilliant scholar, a leading authority on Irish law and the sister of a king. This is also a period in history when celibacy was not yet a part of religious life. The Irish, unlike the English have always shown a much greater respect and admiration for their womenfolk and this is why, even in an age when most countries treated women with little or no regard, other than for breeding an heir, that Sister Fidelma has risen to the position that she now holds. Although she is the sister of a king, this has little or no bearing on her ability to command respect. The year is AD 64 and the Archbishop is found garrotted in his own rooms. A monk has been arrested running away from the scene of the crime, but Sister Fidelma is convinced that he is an innocent party. Fidelma joins with Brother Eadulf to find out the truth. But this is no simple crime, they find very little in the way of clues or evidence, but there seem to be a great deal of people who have a motive for committing the crime.

"Shroud for the Archbishop", the second installment of the Sister Fidelma mystery series, is set in Rome in the year 664 A.D. Set immediately after the debut story in this series, this tale finds the Irish Sister Fidelma and her Saxon monk sidekick Brother Eadulf both visiting the Holy City, and both for different reasons. Fidelma is there to receive a blessing for her new abbey, while Eadulf is there as secretary to the Saxon nominee for the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. The Saxon bishop Wighard is slated to be ordained as Canterbury's archbishop. For those tumultuous times in theChristian church, ordaining a Saxon to this position was quite a controversial move. But when Wighard is found garroted in his cubicle, and the treasures which he had brought to Rome are stolen, the Roman magistrate charges Fidelma to find his murderer. An Irish monk named Ronan is almost immediately arrested for the murder, but, fearing that finding an Irish monk guilty of the Saxon bishop's murder could lead to a civil war, the Romans ask the Irish?Saxon team of Fidelman and Eadulf to look into the murder in order to bring about justice. The story probably contains a lot more information on church politics than most readers care to digest; however, the story also contains much information on contemporary Roman life. I especially enjoyed the scenes set in the catacombs, which are crucial to the story. The first half of the book really moved slowly for me, as it was quite bogged down in the political background revolving around the archbishops murder. As Fidelma and Eadulf begin to suspect that the Irish monk is not the guilty party, and as the dead bodies start to pile up, the story got a little more interesting. This was not as strong as the first book in the series, but was still an enjoyable historical mystery.

Shroud for the Archbishop is a successful second volume in the Sister Fidelma series. The very detailed descriptions of Rome in the seventh century Dark Ages provide a good background to an interesting puzzle that is solved by a well-matched pair of sleuths. However, this second book and therefore the series labor under two disadvantages. (1) A lot of background social and historical information is repeated from the first volume, so smoother narrative for readers of an earlier volume is traded for accessibility to new readers. (2) Characterization falters because the role of Brother Eadulf of Canterbury is weakened. In this second volume, he is much more a Watson-like foil to Sister Fidelma and a less acute personage in his own right. Patronizing replaces parity. For me at least, that reduces the dramatic interest of the story.Still and all, Shroud for the Archbishop was pretty good and future volumes in the series are worth taking a look at.

Shroud for the Archbishop is a wonderful mystery that has all the right ingredients: a setting in mid-seventh century Rome, numerous murders, engaging characters and a lot of esoteric information about the early Celtic Church. Great stuff!