The King's Prey: Saint Dymphna of Ireland

God's Forgotten Friends: Lives of Little-Known Saints

By: Susan Peek

Narrated by: Mathias Holt

An insane king. His fleeing daughter. Estranged brothers, with a scarred past, risking everything to save her from a fate worse than death. Toss in a holy priest and a lovable wolfhound, and get ready for a wild race across Ireland.

For the first time ever, the legend of Saint Dymphna, a 15-year old Irish princess who lived in the 7th century, is brought to life in this contemporary novel for teens. When Dymphna's mother dies, her insane father believes Dymphna is his wife. With three friends, Dymphna manages to escape, but is pursued by the king's soldiers across Ireland.

Although the story is centered around the princess's plight, the main character is actually not Dymphna, but Turlough, one of the soldiers hunting them. His motives, however, are different from the others. His younger brother, Brioc, is one of the three helping Dymphna escape! As Turlough races against time to save his brother from certain death, misunderstanding after misunderstanding occurs, making Brioc believe Turlough is trying to kill them all.

Action-packed and with twist after twist, this is not your normal religious biography. Written in fast-paced, contemporary style to appeal to modern teens, this is a historical adventure that doesn't let up.

©2017 Susan Peek (P)2021 Susan Peek

Great and tragic story

Loved listening to this. Such a great story, I am listening to it again. I have to slow down the reading just a notch to understand the Irish dialect but I really enjoyed the reading of this story and the storyline as a whole!

Breathlessly exciting!

This is one of the most suspenseful, inspiring, and enjoyable saint novels I've ever read, and is definitely a favorite of high school students! I'm so glad that it's now available in audio so that I can read (listen to) it again! This Irish reader sounds very authentic. However, I find that his accent is a bit hard to understand. I have absolutely no problem following the story because I have read the book already. But it might be difficult for those who have not read it (especially understanding what he is saying when he reads Irish names like Turlough, Brioc, Samthann, etc.) I highly recommend reading the book first, and then using this audio recording when you want to enjoy the story again in the future.

No longer forgotten

Susan Peak gives an amazing story to a martyr. May St. Dymphna pray for us.

Another great Saint!!!

This retelling of the not widely known life of Saint Dymphna was inspiring, engaging, and intriguing. Any person with the interest of learning more about the saints would be truly inspired.