Reviews for The subtle serpent

The average rating for The subtle serpent based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-09-16 00:00:00 Dana Lofland Sister Fidelma of Kildare has been sent to the Abbey of the Salon of the Three Wells in her capacity as dálaigh to solve a mystery involving a body in one of the wells. As the barc, captained by Ross closes in on their destination, they see a large "ghost ship" cutting an odd course that will surely bring it to ruin on the rocks. They board the ship and find no-one aboard. Fidelma spots a few clues as she inspects the ship, but the most chilling of all is the discovery of a missal that she had given her good friend, Saxon monk Brother Eadulf of Seaxmund's Ham, when they had parted a year earlier. She knew he would never willingly give up that book. However, she had a mystery to solve - a murder. The Abbess Draigen is acting very strange and making some poor judgements despite being the one who asked for a Brehon. There are other disturbances as the various relationships between the Sisters of the Abbey and the fortress of Dún Boí come to light. When a second murder occurs, Sister Fidelma experiences one of her biggest challenges ever: how to sift through all the false words and false trails that are so plentiful and try to find the elusive truths? This 4th book of the Sister Fidelma series is a fascinating read. We are in 7th century Ireland and the author's knowledge of this time, as well as the quotes from the literature of the time both enhances the atmosphere of this novel and shapes the characters. When I first discovered this series 11 years ago, I was hooked on the history, the main characters, and was mesmerized by the laws of the time that governed the people. I read as many of the books in this series as I could find in the Library. However, it wasn't until this series was released in the form of eBooks that I was once more able to join Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf on their adventures. I am looking forward to catching up on books that I had previously missed in this series as well as re-reading some of them. Highly recommended for readers with an interest in ancient Ireland: even in the 7th Century during which these books are set, the legends and the lore from still more ancient times also play a role.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-01-17 00:00:00 Darrian Turner Tremayne is a terrible writer and Sister Fidelma is practically perfect in every way. Despite those flaws it was a good read and I enjoyed the story.