Absolution by Murder

A Sister Fidelma Mystery

De: Peter Tremayne

Narrado por: Caroline Lennon

In AD 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.

©1994 Peter Tremayne (P)2014 Audible Inc.

If Brother Cadfael was female and Irish,,,,

Seventh Century Irish nun/lawyer solves murder mysteries in the middle of a church conference. Yes, nun and lawyer. Really. The book is worth a credit just to find out haw that worked.

Very complex set of characters and situations. Inspires me to do a little research on a period of history most of us know very little about. Narrator does a great job.

My only complaint -not really a complaint, more an inevitable problem - is that many of the names sound alike, making it a challenge to keep all the characters straight.

Well written and well read, though sometimes tedio

Very good historica mystery with compellin intriug. Strong distinct cherecters. The author has a tendancy to emphasize lesser known facts about church history, like priests could merry and monks lived in co-ed monasteries. I am a church history fanatic so I loved the historical and theological detail, though i ca imagine that it mighty be boring for some. The reader has a lovely irish acent and obviously practiced her latin and unfamilliar words.

Great story could use a better narrator

I love the story and all the details about the tension between the Roman and Celtic churches. The narrator, unfortunately, does not provide any discernable distinction in voice or accent between characters - the men sound just like the women and everyone has an Irish accent. I guess I'm spoiled by other narrators who are able to change voice and diction to match the characters.

great story

Great story, and I am sure I will listen to more. this the second one I have enjoyed.

Wonderful series!!

I found this series at Book 6 and have come back to Book 1 to start right. If you like historical pieces this will not disappoint with the Irish history!

Enjoyable historical mystery

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, I enjoyed this book and it’s well worth a listen. I think that Tremayne is not as skilled as, say, Steven Saylor at being a pure story teller and this book tends to be a bit wooden. But he packs in a lot of historical detail (even if very opinionated detail!).

Would you recommend Absolution by Murder to your friends? Why or why not?

For sure. Although the writing is a bit wooden, I do find that I enjoy the Fidelma stories very much.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes, I thought that the narrator matched the story quite well.

Did Absolution by Murder inspire you to do anything?

No. Not sure why it would.

Any additional comments?

This was a good listen. I did guess the answer fairly early as I thought there were huge hints not all too well concealed.

Diversity in the 1300's

I love historical fiction, especially when I can actually learn something. I think there was a lot of literary and historical license taken in this book. There were monks, nuns, abbots and abbesses aplenty - but none like I have ever read about before. Even so - the characters were fun and likable. I will read more, simply for pleasure.

Intriguing cartoonish story

Would you consider the audio edition of Absolution by Murder to be better than the print version?

Don't know, but I like the reader very much.

What did you like best about this story?

Historical accuracy

Which scene was your favorite?

Confrontation of the astrologist

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No. Though the few times historical inaccuracies pop up, they are really stand out. For instance, in the first book they mention "autopsy." I'm fairly certain this concept was not current in Sister Fidelma's time, let alone the word it self. I don't know why, but I found that jarring, bothersome.

Any additional comments?

I'm hooked. The things that bother me are the rather cartoonish way in which Fidelma is portrayed, rather like the cartoons about the founding of America around the time of the Bicentennial. Although to be fair, Brother Eadulf, does act somewhat as a foil, showing Fidelma's almost arrogant attitude. The reasons for her attitude though are quite real, however, and the books bring up the differences in the way the Irish respected their women in an interesting way. I'm hopeful the characters deepen and develop over time.

You will know whodunnit if…

So…I was delighted to see this in the Plus catalog. If you’re a history buff, you’ll adore the deep dive into early medieval religious and political controversy. The narrator is very good, which is so important.

But…

Whyyyyy the homophobia? If you are LGBTQ, some part of you will always be waiting for an author’s betrayal. Well, the stab comes even before the murder and you will know IMMEDIATELY who will be guilty. IMMEDIATELY. The rest of the book was just watching the heterosexual heroes try to figure out what happened. Ugh. And the author has to sprinkle in not ONE but TWO gay characters who are stereotypes and, of course, punished by the narrative in one way or another.

I know this series was written in the 90’s, but I would have expected more from a respected historian, which this pseudonymous author is. This book didn’t age well and I’m on the fence about listening to another because I think this writer’s panic about gender and sexual is deeeeeep.

Enjoyable but for the corn.

I cringed every time I heard corn colored hair, corn was not introduced until 800 years later. Some of the names where hard to follow. I did like the historical parts and it was a good mystery. I will listen to other books in this series.