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The Monk Who Vanished (2002)

The Monk Who Vanished (2002)

Book Info

Genre
Rating
3.99 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
0451206266 (ISBN13: 9780451206268)
Language
English
Publisher
signet

About book The Monk Who Vanished (2002)

No. 7 in the Sister Fidelma series.[return][return]I sometimes (no, often) ask myself why I keep up with this series, since it s not particularly well written and its protagonist, Sister Fidelma, is one of the most uninteresting in the genre. What few (and far between) expressions of emotion she has must be so startling to Tremayne that he does a terrible job of writing about them. She may be smart, but she is also bloodless and therefore colorless.[return][return]That said, the plots are good and Tremayne s writing has improved a good deal since the first book. This installment has sister Fidelma investigating the disappearance of an old monk along with the holy relics belonging to St. Ailbe, who brought Christianity to the Irish kingdom of Muman in the 5th century.[return][return]We learn fast enough that it s the usual power struggle, of course an effort to bring down Fidelma s brother who is the King of Muman.[return][return]This book shows the continued improvement in both plot and writing over the others. The plot is nicely done. The ins and outs of ancient Irish law are interesting. In fact, it all is except for the characters and especially excepting Fidelma. You can enjoy this book, but you do have to more or less ignore Fidelma. At the end of the book, Fidelma is disappointed over Brother Eadulf's seeming lack of interest in her. Surprise, surprise--he probably wants someone alive![return][return]I ll probably continue with the series, although I'm not exactly sure why.

Accidentally read out of order, skipped book 5 and 6, and didn't even notice. Now I see some of the character development dialogue probably makes more sense that the time elapsed didn't happen off screen, but no in between cases were revealed. Fidelma is in her home kingdom when her brother and a visiting prince are both hit with arrows. Accusations fly about who is behind it and which kingdom is plotting against the other. Important relics are also missing from a nearby abbey. Fidelma and Eadulf work together to avert full scale war and ruin for her family and her kingdom. I had inklings that the bad guy was up to no good, but not who his allies were and were not even up to Fidelma's dramatic court presentation. Some of the subplot I did not see coming at all. I very much enjoy this series rich in detail both historical and clues in the crime add up to enough information to solve it and enough not to at the same time.

Do You like book The Monk Who Vanished (2002)?

The Sister Fidelma stories continue with this book (#7 in the series). It is September, 666 A.D. An aged monk and priceless relics disappear from the Abbey of Imleach. Fidelma's brother, King Colgu, is wounded in an attempted assassination plot along with the Prince of the Ui Fidgente who has come to the city of Cashel to negotiate a peace treaty. The future of King Colgu's realm hangs in the balace as Fidelma tries to prevent civil war and the toppling of her brother from his throne. Old hatreds are aroused as the notion of "us vs them" is renewed. And in the midst of bloodshed, vengeance and treachery is the troubling relationship (or lack of!) between Fidelma and her Saxon companion, Eadulf. They have worked on cases like this for nearly a year. Are they friends? Partners? or is there more between them? Do they want there to be more? A decision must be made...and at the same time a kingdom must be saved.
—Denise

OK, so I am back to three stars. I should trust myself. I guessed the culprit at the very first page of the book. I still like the story but I need a bit more subtlety. I also dislike the writing tool of solving a large chunk of the mystery through hearing some character confess-- way before the "reveal" in the story. Perhaps I need a break from this series just like Fidelma thinks she needs a break (as of the previous book) from Eadulf. BTW, I feel impatient with their relationship.
—Patricia

Originally published on my blog here in February 2000.The latest Sister Fidelma mystery shows no real signs of improvement, having the same plot once again. This time the threat to her brother Colgu's throne is an all out assassination attempt in his capital at Cashel rather than a dark plot in the corners of the kingdom of Muman (better known by its Viking name of Munster). There are distinct signs of cheating, as when Fidelma looks at a sword and says that its use of animal teeth is a speciality of the art of one of the Irish kingdoms but she can't remember which one. Surely that's not the way that people remember things; she might more plausibly realise that there's something special about the sword but not be sure what it is.All the real interest, all the character development, comes in the epilogue; at last something changes in her relationship with the Saxon Eadwulf; at last she might leave Muman and go somewhere new. But none of this is prepared; it all comes as a surprise. Thus, the next Sister Fidelma novel might be worth reading, but if it isn't I'll finally give up on the series.
—Simon Mcleish

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