I have been enjoying a new heroine.

I have also been enjoying a new genre.

In general, I am not a fan of mysteries -- due to my insatiable NEED to find out how any story ends within a chapter of beginning it -- but with Sister Fidelma, there is much to interest and intrigue.


She is a religieux, a woman belonging to a holy order. The Abbey of  St. Brigid of Kildare. She is also a lawyer, qualified to the second-highest ranking in the land (the rank of anruth, which is another story for another day).  She is a princess.  She is attractive and knows it but without caring overmuch about it. She is strong.  She is brilliant. She is fallible.

If you have interests in mysteries, or in the Ireland of the 7th Century, or in the strange time of tension in Irish history where Roman and Irish church customs met and clashed, or even if you just like some cool historical fiction, I recommend the Sister Fidelma Mysteries by Peter Tremayne.  I just finished Act of Mercy and am starting Smoke in the Wind.

Of course... I have already peeked to the end of the latter book.  But! Before you start throwing things at me, know that the end of this one has little to do with the mystery and everything to do with Sister Fidelma's romance.

What? A nun having a romance?  You bet. I'm tellin' ya, Ireland in the 7th Century was pretty darn nifty.