First book by this author - excellent story line. The research that went into this time period shows and Sister Fidelma is brilliant without ever stepping over the line of the period

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Sixth in the wonderful Sister Fidelma medieval mystery series, Fidelma and her friend, Eadulf, are sent to an isolated mountain pagan kingdom, Gleann Geis, by Fidelma's brother, King Colgu of Muman. The pagan king, Laisre, requested someone from the Catholic Church to his kingdom, because he wants to negotiate the first Catholic church and school in the area.

The friends face several challenges as Fidelma tries to complete the requested negotiations. They discover that Laisre appears to be the only one who wants them there because people of the community are afraid that the New Faith is dangerous to their way of life. To complicate matters more, she meets a cleric from the North who believes he has authority over the whole island. The mystery deepens buy they find few clues to the reason for the deaths and who might have committed the atrocity.

When she finds herself under suspicion Fidelma must rely on the limited legal knowledge of Eadulf who surprisingly does a brilliant job of defending her. Eventually, is a plot against Ireland is uncovered. As for the church and the school, the two decide after lengthy discussion and contemplation that the kingdom is not ready for the Christian religion. Efforts to establish a church and school must be postponed to a later time.

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Another interesting historical mystery featuring Sister Fidelma - with lots of dead bodies.

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I think this is the book where Sister Fidelma begins to evolve somewhat. There was more action adventure to the mystery. This book to me seemed to read faster.

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