Fidelma's life stays complex and full of danger as she sorts through a burgeoning conspiracy. Dead bodies litter the castle and countryside until Fidelma uses her astute logic and Gaelic Law to identify the noble and aspiring culprits. ( )

Sister Fidelma and her Eadulf are pulled into political upheaval and a conspiracy that threatens Fidelma, her brother the king and their kingdom. It all begins when a young nobleman is found stabbed to death and his body left by a stream. The young nobleman had no identificaiton so Fidelma and Eadulf set out to try to identify him. Their quest leads them into imminent danger and even results in Fidelma's kidnapping which luckly Eadulf rescues her from. The year is 670 AD. The place Ancient Ireland. Mr. Tremayne is an historian and his books are always historically correct. He also crafts intriguing and complex mysteries. This book is the 24th in this series. I did find the book a little difficult to follow because of the large cast and the strange names of the characters. I have been reading Fidelma for a long time so I'm used to the strange sounding names, but this book really has a lot of them. I also found that the descriptions of the various plots and conspiracies were a bit difficult to follow. This would not be a book for someone unfamiliar with Fidelma to begin the series with that's for sure. The book is very well written and the characters are quite realistic as usual, but maybe I'm just a little bewildered by this book for the reasons I've stated. It was not my favourite Sister Fidelma book but it will not stop me from reading this series. ( )