The second in a series featuring Sister Fidelma, a 7th century female detective/lawyer (a dalaigh) from Ireland. The setting is Rome with its politicians, merchants, clerics, politicians, soldiers, and pilgrims. The murder takes place in the guest rooms of the Lateran Palace in Rome. There are a number of Catholic clerics as well as Roman soldiers and Roman politicians among the novel's main characters. But we also leave the palace in order to visit bars, hostels, catacombs, churches, brothels, storehouses, gardens and ports. As in his first novel, Tremayne shows that many places in the ancient world were filled with a mix of people confronting each other from various cultures and subcultures. In this novel, Sister Fidelma encounters royals and peasants, locals and foreigners. Tremayne highlights a number of languages--either spoken, written or read by the novel's characters: Latin, Greek, Arabic, Gaelic, and other languages and dialects make an appearance in the novel. (Not that we have to decode them; the characters must.) Decoding these languages, cultures and various personalities is vital to learning more about the suspects and the victims. Guessing the murder was harder for me than it was for the first novel. There were several twists and turns. I finally decided to just learn what I could from the historical setting while reading instead of pushing myself to unravel the truth from the many possible characters and their motives. It was interesting and entertaining to travel to Rome with Sister Fidelma. I look forward to learning more about her world in the next novel in this series.
These little mysteries are growing on me. I really love the history and religion aspects (though I get annoyed when the author shoves in tidbits that break up the narrative and are just completely random to the moment, just because he knows something and he wants us to know it too, which is not an infrequent thing). This particular one was set in 7th century Rome and since so many of the movies/TV I've watched or books I've read are set either in ancient, pagan Rome or Renaissance Rome, this was a cool perspectively. Fidelma is an interestingly layered character -- 1) morally and ethically staunch though skeptical of relics, hierarchy, and dogma, which Roman Christianity is full of; 2) a fairly liberated woman sexually but skittish when i comes to love (wish the author hadn't shoved this in as an afterthought at the end of the book but woven it in more naturally throughout the book); 3) and she apparently kicks ass in the martial arts. Unfortunately, while Fidelma is a nuanced character, Tremayne is not a nuanced writer (see note above about Fidelma's love life). It seems to me like he writes what's in his head at that exact moment instead of putting some forethought into the unfolding of his characters. Obviously he does this well with the plot, but less well with character development and yummy historical facts. Nonetheless, I've borrowed the next one in the series and will keep going with it. Hopefully Tremayne will grow over time as a writer.
Do You like book Shroud For The Archbishop (1998)?
I really wanted to give this 3.5 stars because the first half of the book drags a bit. But once hitting the midway point, Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf start vigorously investigating the murder. Once again, a good number of suspects, all with motives, if you can figure out the secrets they are hiding. I was very close to the correct answer, guessing the connection between two characters, but putting blame on the wrong one. Also, love the relationship between Fidelma and Eadulf. Learned more interesting facts about the times and I am in awe of Irish society at the time. A very forward and progressive thinking people.
—Laura Edwards
Second in the historical mystery series, Sister Fidelma, we are frustrated in mid-7th century Rome with Fidelma when she is forced to kick her heels waiting for an audience with the Bishop of Rome. And, in the waiting, Fidelma becomes involved in the murder of archbishop-designate, Wighard.Shroud for the Archbishop is a fascinating tale of revenge, intrigue, and greed with a forceful and fascinating woman. Revenge for the assassination of a woman and the disposal of her children. Intrigue for the political machinations within the Church for higher position. Greed for the passionate desire for books and status.I adore Sister Fidelma---she don't take no shit from no one! She insists upon truth and will brook no opposition in finding the truth! Considering how women are treated in the time period (outside Ireland, that is), that's really saying something. Even better, Fidelma continually proves that the rest of the world is making a huge mistake in ignoring the value of women.
—Kathy Davie
This second Sister Fidelma mystery read much easier than the first. Perhaps because it takes place in Rome and perhaps because we learned a lot (like a distracting a lot) in the first, this book was much less cumbersome to read. Yes I still learned something and I do enjoy that I just didn't notice as much while I was reading, the story just unfolded better. Here we find Fidelma in Rome fairly recently arrived when the Archbishop elect of Canterbury is found murdered by presumably an Irish monk. Fidelma and Eadulf are asked to join forces again for much the same reason as before, to avert strife between Irish and Saxon. This time though a culprit was arrested and Eadulf is much less open minded than Fidelma. Lots of looks at early Christian Rome and the early Church, a little harsh on the Latin Rite, but maybe a little deservedly so, especially in the mind of Fidelma. I enjoyed the characters just as much as the last book which is what kept me reading and the mystery again, but I am looking forward to reading the next book to see if this reduced background info persists for more enjoyable reading.
—Argum
