Title: Intriguing backdrop all but ruined by wooden prose
Product review: The historical setting of this book with the conflict between Celtic and Roman Christianity was intriguing and realistic. You get a genuine sense for the time and place. The downfall, and it is quite a fall, is the wooden prose. I have never seen so many characters grimace. Tremayne uses the word "grimace" frequently, conspicously, and awkwardly. In addition, Sister Fidelma's character is one-dimensional. She isn't a medieval feminist from an enlightened society; she is just a grouch. If she isn't angry, she's irritated, impatient, insulted, or otherwsie bothered. Once in a while she is pleasant, but then she grimaces and your back to square one. The plot is crafted well enough, though the murderer wasn't hard to guess. In sum, this might be worth a single read, but I wouldn't search for the hard cover version.
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