Suffer Little Children

A Sister Fidelma Mystery

By: Peter Tremayne

Narrated by: Caroline Lennon

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Sister Fidelma returns in another spellbinding story of murder and intrigue in seventh-century Ireland - when the murder of a high cleric threatens to result in a bloody war between two of Ireland's kingdoms.

In AD 644 the Venerable Dacan, a respected scholar of the Celtic Church, is murdered while on a visit to the Abbey of Ros Ailithir in the Irish Kingdom of Muman. Dacan, unfortunately, was the close confidant of the hotheaded young king of the neighboring kingdom of Fearna, who is using Dacan's murder as an excuse to provoke war.

Sister Fidelma, an advocate of the Brehon courts, is summoned by the dying king of Muman to solve the brutal killing and to prevent the incipient war between the two kingdoms. But at the remote abbey, Fidelma soon discovers there are far more sinister forces than mere political intrigue at work behind the mystery of Dacan's death. She must quickly unravel a most complicated mystery if she is to prevent the coming war - and preserve her own life as well.

With a mix of historical detail and deft characterization, Peter Tremayne once again brings ancient Ireland to full, vivid life.

©1995 Peter Tremayne (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Brother Cadfael meets Prime Suspect (sort of)

I’m already buying the next in this series.
I enjoy the history and the mystery and the strong female lead. And in general I enjoy the narrator’s style, tone, and pace.

But there is a bit of a repetitive pattern developing about the murderer. Part way through I recocognized the way a certain character was written and guessed (correctly) the murderer. There are lots of great twists and turns about side plots and specifics so it still kept me engaged. Another disappointment in that Fidelma makes a really poor choice at one point.
The narrator doesn’t attempt significantly different voices for the characters, which is fine in general, but there were times I lost track of which character was speaking.

There’s enough to like that I’ll probably binge on through the series, but I did notice the above issues.

Greqr story line!

With each book I try to figure out the clues to see if I can figure it out, but so far the author has managed to stump me! I continue my quest with Book 4...bring it on!

Glimpse into Medieval society and life

This mystery series is highly recommended for anyone interested in the early medieval time period, and this one in particular for someone interested in the history of Ireland. I really felt I had a glimpse into what life would have been like.

The narration is excellent, and she does a wonderful job of creating characters and helping me understand the pronunciation.

Love this series

Be forewarned! Once you start listening you cannot stop. If you have an annual membership you will go through all your credits - sister Fidelma is inspirational - you will love these books.

Great Audio except....

We love the Sister Fidelma stories, and this was the best so far. The plot was very convoluted so we didn’t find out the murderer until the end. We also enjoy allusions to ancient Irish Law and topography, as we have seen Skellig Michael in our travels to Ireland. However, we encountered a technical problem at the end of Chapter 10. An important clue is supposed to be revealed, but the audio skips ahead into Chapter 11. Very frustrating!

Sister Fidelma in Seventh Century Ireland

If you are a fan of Brother Cadfael Mysteries, you will love this series. I have learned much that I did not know about Ireland in the seventh century and about the changes in the church over time. In this book, the third in the series, Sister Fidelma is summonsed back to her home kingdom, as a favor to the new king, who is Fidelma's brother. A respected scholar has been murdered and his relative is demanding an honor price to be paid. But there is much more underlying in the situation and war between the kingdoms threatens. Can Sister Fidelma get to the bottom of the murder while protecting her own life?

Earns 5/5 Abbey Secrets…Engaging Epic!

I have become an eager fan of historical fiction, especially that which is centuries ago, somewhere in Europe or the British Isles, and includes a murder mystery to untangle. I often find myself googling the facts and details behind the fiction applauding the efforts the author made to bring about as true a representation of culture, society, roles of women, and the true events of the time. Case in Point: Peter Tremayne’s Sister Fidelma Mystery. “Suffer Little Children” is the third book in the series set again in the seventh century, and as I discovered, the only book set in Ireland (Éireann), Sister Fidelma home.

Sister Fidelma has been summoned by the King of Muman, her cousin, to return home immediately. Sadly, on her arrival, she discovers her cousin is gravely ill from the yellow plague; her brother, being his heir, would soon become King, and is distressed that his rule may come with war. The Venerable Dacán, a revered scholar, yet austere in personality, has been murdered and her well-known talents are sought and required to uncover the culprit and, as a result, avoid war. The new King of Laighin, a neighboring kingdom with whom they share centuries of animosity over a land dispute, is demanding, by law, an honor price for Dacán’s brutal murder, whose brother of the victim is a close advisor. Due to the impact of the murder and a complex set of familial connections to the Abbey Ros Ailithir where the murder occurred, the demand includes returning the disputed lands to Laighin or war between the two kingdoms is imminent. It may be a stretch, but Sister Fidelma concurs that if the murder details show the abbey culpable, then so is the King of Muman, and they will need to atone for the murderous crime…as is law. Her brother has commissioned her to investigate the incident and be prepared to present her findings, for or against her kin, in seven weeks time when the Great Assembly convenes or war will ensue…not much pressure, I’d say.

Peter Tremayne’s Sister Fidelma Mystery series is a huge favorite, and for this third journey she has a personal stake in the outcome of her investigation, but an serious outbreak of yellow fever, destruction of a small village, a little group of displaced children, dynamic at the abbey, impediments with her investigation, further perilous incidents, and a warship sitting in the harbor add intense pressure to her task and page-turning engagement to the reader, or in my case, listener. Tremayne’s well-developed story, epic in nature, and writing style is brilliantly compelling, very descriptive with vivid language to illustrate the different settings, diverse characters, and varied emotions in the drama. The abundance of characters mentioned direct or indirect to the story, names and terms in the medieval or Irish vernacular (although defined in context), and all the complex descriptions, might make one feel overwhelmed, but the entirety of the drama is enriched by such details. I am, however, listening to the extraordinarily talented Caroline Lennon whose narration helps make those details more comprehensible, smoother, and with accurate pronunciations (although, for this review, I had to look elsewhere for as many accurate spellings as I could find). Her natural voice is pleasant and she performs well the Irish accents depicting age and gender. Yes, it is an epic story (the audiobook has an 11:35:00 running time), but the scope of the murder where the body is no longer available, rugged nature of the seventh century, and lack of contemporary forensic techniques along with historical and religious references, detailed movements and mannerisms, and several side stories are extensive and need to be addressed. Marvelous…all the way through to the shocking conclusion!

Solid but much darker

The mystery is fairly obvious in almost all ways, but the journey to the end makes it fun anyway. However the book is many shades darker than the previous two. Might not be for everyone and it's certainly no longer a comfy mystery.

Solid entry in the Sister Fidelma series

I’d give this book 3.5 stars, but l’m rounding down to 3 due to Tremayne’s pedantic writing style. I actually really enjoy the Fidelma books, including this one, but I have mixed feelings about Tremayne’s writing style. I think that the author has a great story, but he has a very pedantic writing style. Sister Fidelma comes across as a humorless and self-important know-it-all, but I don’t think that is the author’s intention. I often think that it would be great if Tremayne could team up with a master storyteller like Steven Saylor who could bring Tremayne’s characters and well thought out mysteries to life. Now those would be fantastic books. Despite all this, I really do enjoy the Fidelma mysteries. They are well thought out and Tremayne (really the Celtic scholar Peter Ellis) provides rich historical context. This story has Fidelma investigating a murder which involves her in slaughter and cruelty. There are dark scenes in this book, and it isn’t a cozy mystery to be sure. Fidelma survives danger to investigate several intertwined mysteries and ends up arguing her case before the high king and chief Brehon of Ireland. Well worth the read.