Customer Reviews

Smoke in the Wind

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the kingdom of Dyfed in what is now South Wales, Brother Cyngar stops at Llampadern, a religious community of twenty-seven brothers, expecting a good meal only to find the place deserted. There are no signs of a struggle but it looks like the brothers departed in the middle of their meal and all the livestock is missing. The traveler rushes to the Abbey of Dewi Saint to inform Abbot Tryffin. The abbot and the king of Dyfed, whose son is one of the missing brothers, prevail upon Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf to investigate the vanishing.

Fidelma and Eadulf agree to help though both realize the Britons who occupy most of Dyfed hate the Saxons. They stop briefly at the town of Pen Cair, accompanied by a judge, who is presiding over a murder trial. The two visiting sleuths help their companion investigate the situation until it is time to travel to Llampadern where they are kidnapped by outlaws who have a distinctly royal bearing. When they escape, they find the judge murdered. Fidelma investigates both cases with some very interesting results.

Peter Tremayne makes the culture of that period come alive in the mind's eye and snares the interest of the reader from the outset. Fidelma observes that mid-seventh century South Wales is very similar to her homeland since the Celts also settled there. This who done-it has many layers and the two cases have threads in common which makes for a brilliant puzzle that is almost impossible to solve. As usual a Fidelma mystery is always fun to read and SMOKE IN THE WIND is no exception.

Harriet Klausner

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I have been reading all of the Sister Fidelma mysteries (in order), and I have enjoyed following her and the faithful Brother Eadulf in their many travels and adventures. In this book they have made an unsceduled stop in Wales and are thrown into investigating the mysterious disappearance of a whole abbey full of monks. The king of Wales has asked them to journey to this area and try to determine what has happened. When they arrive there they find a truly appalling situation. Unease and unrest are rampant in the area, and they also discover that a murder has been committed that seems unrelated to their investigation. But the further they get into the puzzle they determine that the two situations are indeed related and the plot is more devious than could be imagined. A truly delicious medieval thriller!