Rating is rounded up from 3.5 stars.

Sister Fidelma solves several murders in 7th-century Rome.

Sister Fidelma is a Celtic nun as well as a dalaigh, which means she is an advocate in the courts of the Five Kingdoms of Eirann. With the help of Saxon monk Brother Eadulf, Fidelma perseveres and prevails over church heirarchy and Roman custom to solve the murder of Archbishop Wighard, who was garrotted by his own prayer cord. Several more garrottings occur throughout the course of the book until Sister Fidelma, with the help of Brother Eadulf, names the killer.

Readers are treated to lots of historical tidbits about Rome, and I won’t deny that I enjoyed it when the more odious characters got their comeuppance. Overall, this was a solid read, well-researched and literate. There are lots of needlessly convoluted machinations and red herrings – and the scene of Fidelma’s exposure of the killer is excruciating. (“Name the killer, Sister!” followed by Fidelma asking for water because her mouth is dry and then slowly sipping the water, telling stories, asking people to write the name of a certain farmer down and pass it to someone else, etc.) I listened to the end at 200% playbask speed.

The last scene in the book, in which Fidelma says goodbye to many other characters before hopping on a boat back to Ireland, is poignant; every goodbye carries the weight of knowing that paths are unlikely to cross again.

Narrator Caroline Lennon brings the voice of Sister Fidelma to life with admirable skill.

I recommend this series to anyone intrested in 7th-century Britain/Ireland, and this book in particular would be appeciated by those interested Roman history. I don’t know that I’ll read or listen to the rest of the series; it’s not one of the few for which I wait, breathless with anticipation, for the next installment to be published.

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Sor Fidelma viaja a Roma, donde confía y teme a la vez reencontrarse con Eadulf, respecto al que experimenta sentimientos encontrados. Lo que debía ser un viaje protocolario se convierte en un nuevo caso cuando aparece asesinado el arzobispo Wighard de Canterbury y se les encarga a ella y Eadulf el cso.

Fidelma en Eadulf zijn in Rome, zij om de regels van haar klooster door de paus te laten goedkeuren, hij als secretaris van de door de paus in te zegenen bisschop van Canterbury. Helaas wordt die man vermoord en de kostbaarheden die hij bij zich heeft, blijken verdwenen te zijn. Een klus dus voor Fidelma en Eadulf, waarbij Fidelma nogal opzien baart door haar doortastende optreden, iets wat men in Rome niet gewend is van vrouwen.

This is the second novel in Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma mystery series, which is set during the 7th century. Set in Rome, the novel centres around the murder of the archbishop-designate of Canterbury, Wighard. Fidelma, who has travelled to Rome on behalf of her church in Ireland, is once again called upon to investigate the death of Wighard. As in the first novel in the series, Fidelma is joined in her investigation by Eadulf, who was secretary to Wighard. As the two navigate through their investigation, it soon becomes clear to Fidelma that the case is not as clear cut as it may initially have seemed.

I find this series interesting not only for the mysteries themselves and the characters, but also because of the history. I'm especially interested in the differences between the early Roman church and the churches in Ireland. ( )

La Rome du XVIIeme siècle comme cadre à une enquête qui se déroule entre les "temps barbares" et l'aube du "haut Moyen Age"... Agréable ( )