Winter, 670 AD. King Colgú has invited the leading nobles and chieftains of his kingdom to a feast day. Fidelma and her companion Eadulf are finally home for an extended stay, and have promised their son, Alchú, that they'll be able to spend some time together after months of being on the road, investigating crimes. Fidelma and Eadulf are enjoying the feast when it is interrupted by the entrance of a religieux, who claims he has an important message for the King. He approaches the throne and shouts 'Remember Liamuin!' and then stabs King Colgú. The assassin is slain, but does enough damage to take out Colgú's bodyguard, and to put the king himself on the verge of death. As King Colgú lies in recovery, Fidelma, Eadulf, and bodyguard Gormán are tasked with discovering who is behind the assassination attempt, and who Liamuin is. They must journey into the territory of their arch-enemies, the Uí Fidgente, to uncover the secrets in the...

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 either church in the Saxon kingdoms. When the Abbess Etain, a leading speaker for the Celtic church, is found murdered, suspicion falls upon the Roman faction. In order to diffuse the tensions that threaten to erupt into civil war, Oswy turns to Sister Fidelma of the Celtic Church (Irish and an advocate for the Brehon Court) and Brother Eadulf of the Roman church (from east Anglia and of a family of hereditary magistrates) to find the killer. But as further murders occur and a treasonous plot against Oswy matures, Fidelma and Eadulf soon find themselves running out of time.From Publishers WeeklyThis immensely appealing launch of a new series is set in seventh-century Ireland, which in Tremayne's rendering is a golden age of enlightenment and of total equality for women. Such narrative stumbling blocks as an abundance of stereotypical characters and much more dynastic trivia, ecclesiastical and secular history than can be absorbed are offset by the vigorous, intriguing puzzle posed by a series of murders and by Sister Fidelma, the tale's brilliant and beguiling heroine. An ecclesiastical conclave to settle major divisions between the Roman and Celtic branch of Christianity is held at Whitby in 664. When a major proponent of the Celtic way, the Abbess of Kildare, is murdered, Sister Fidelma, a fellow Celtic follower and legally trained scholar, is asked to investigate. She is paired with her ideological opposite, Brother Eadulf, on the Roman side, who is shrewd, highly educated and immediately smitten with the outspoken sister. The intellectual and physical sparks that are ignited between these two clerics (in an age before celibacy) light up the pages, and when two monks are killed and the malevolence thickens, the book becomes difficult to put down. It is reassuring to read that Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf will reappear... next time in Rome. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the AuthorPeter Tremayne is the pseudonym for Peter Berresford Ellis, a well-respected authority on the ancient Celts. He is the author of over twenty books, including The Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, The Celtic Dawn: A History of Pan Celticism, and The Druids. Valley of the Shadow is the sixth Sister Fidelma mystery. Tremayne lives in London, England.

Ebert is not a man to make enemies. He is a chieftain with a reputation for kindliness and generosity. Yet, one night, his household is aroused by a scream from his chamber. The servants burst in to find Moen, a young man to whom Eber had extended his protection, crouched over the bloody body of the chieftain. Moen's clothes are drenched in Eber's blood and he is clutching a bloodstained knife in his hand. There seems no doubt of culpability, but why did Moen kill the gentle and courteous Eber? The problem is exacerbated by the fact that Moen himself cannot tell them - for he is deaf, dumb and blind...Sister Fidelma, advocate of the ancient Irish law courts, is compelled to begin an investigation of the killing in order to present an argument on Moen's behalf before he is condemned. Assisted by Brother Eadulf, Fidelma finds that the path to truth twists and turns with the sinister forces of primitive passions and subtle ambitions - and leads inexorably to a final, stunning denouement.**

In A.D. 644, a respected scholar of the Celtic Church is murdered during a visit to the Irish Kingdom of Muman. The kingdom's ruler summons Sister Fidelma to solve the brutal murder, but her time is limited. The victim, as it turns out, was a comrade of the arrogant King of Fearna, who threatens war over the suspicious death of his friend. But during her inquiries, Sister Fidelma comes to realize that there is more at hand than what appears, and finds her own life caught in the balance.From Kirkus ReviewsA third appearance for Sister Fidelia (Shroud for the Archbishop, 1996, etc.), an advocate of the courts in seventh- century Ireland. Fidelia is the sister of Colg£, who has just become king of Muman, the largest of the five Irish kingdoms, after the death of his cousin King Cathal. Colg£ has asked his sister, skilled in detection, to solve the mystery of the killing of elderly, highly respected Venerable Dac n, from the Kingdom of Laigin, who was stabbed to death while doing research in the Abbey of Ros Ailither, in Colg£'s domain. Now Laigin's King Fianamail is demanding heavy penalties for the death, and Colg£ hopes that Fidelia's expertise will remove his culpability. She sets out for the abbey with her brother's trusted aide Cass. On the way they encounter the sad remains of a village ravaged by order of Salbach, chief of the fighting unit Corco Loigde. They gather up survivor Sister Eisten and the few remaining children, putting them in the abbey's care while Fidelia begins her investigation. Many more will die as she begins to unearth an underlying cause of the ongoing mayhem--a search for the missing son and heir of Illan, ruler of the long-coveted petty kingdom of Osraige. This is revealed and, in a twisty finale, so is the identity of Dac n's killer, as Fidelia makes her case before the Dal--the assembly of the High Court. Endless subplots, characters by the dozen, and the author's determination to educate the reader in the politics, laws, customs and topography of the country make for heavy going. Scholars may love it; for the average reader, though, more penance than pleasure. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.Review"The uncommon time period makes this a distinctive mystery."—Mystery Reader.com

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 either church in the Saxon kingdoms. When the Abbess Etain, a leading speaker for the Celtic church, is found murdered, suspicion falls upon the Roman faction. In order to diffuse the tensions that threaten to erupt into civil war, Oswy turns to Sister Fidelma of the Celtic Church (Irish and an advocate for the Brehon Court) and Brother Eadulf of the Roman church (from east Anglia and of a family of hereditary magistrates) to find the killer. But as further murders occur and a treasonous plot against Oswy matures, Fidelma and Eadulf soon find themselves running out of time.

In September of 666 A.D., an aged monk and a set of relics disappear during the night from the Abbey of Imleach. The missing monk is a matter of great concern for the abbey. But the relics are a disaster of a much higher order. They are the priceless holy relics of St. Ailbe, the man who, in the fifth century, brought Christianity to the Irish kingdom of Muman, converted and baptized it's king, and founded the abbey. The relics themselves are the political symbol of the entire kingdom and their disappearance threatens to disrupt its continued peace and stability.On a visit to the Abbey of Imleach, Sister Fidelma, sister to Colgu, the current King of Muman, and an advocate of the Brehon Courts, is asked to investigate. With the help of her friend and traveling companion, the Saxon monk Brother Eadulf, Fidelma begins to slowly unravel the mystery behind the twin disappearances. But there are dark forces at work, which will stop at nothing - even murder - to achieve their aims.

From Publishers WeeklySister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf, her Saxon monk sidekick, are on their way to Gleann Geis, a remote pagan community in southwest Ireland, when they run across a horrible massacre: 33 young men have been ritually killed, their bodies laid out in a pattern peculiar to the ancient Druid faith. (As her fans know from the five novels in this well-researched series, most recently The Spider's Web, religious and political tensions simmer in seventh-century Ireland, though with its sophisticated legal system and fair treatment of women, it is one of Dark Age Europe's more civilized societies.) At Gleann Geis, the pair stumble on another murder, for which Sister Fidelma is arrested. The meek Eadulf has an easier time mounting a clever defense of his mentor than he does fending off the advances of the local chieftain's precocious 14-year-old niece. Released from confinement, Sister Fidelma is free to make full use of her sharp analytical powers to figure out who is behind the massacre and the seemingly unrelated murder of which she was unjustly accused. She does not disappoint. At the climax, the religieuse explains all, untangling a complex web of intrigue that moves from one surprising revelation to the next. While adept at plotting, Tremayne has an annoying habit of overusing adverbs. A door opens "boisterously," a mouth droops "pessimistically," while characters smile "thinly," "wanly," "warmly," "gravely," "grimly," "apologetically" and "maliciously." In the future one hopes that the author--or his editor--will put as much faith in plain verbs as Sister Fidelma does in her God. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalSeventh-centruy Irish princess Fidelma (The Spider's Web), late of the sisterhood at Kldare, negotiates witha pagan worrror-chieftain on the behalf of her king/brother. Hidden Valley, however, she and companion Brother Eadulf discover 33 ritually slaughtered young men laid out in a circle. Since her object is to establish a Christian church and school in the area, Fidelma vows to investigate the crime. Firmly set in a wild, dangerous time but featuring well bred and educated protagonists, this historical teaches as it entertains. Recommended.Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.