The Dove of Death: A Mystery of Ancient Ireland - by Peter Tremayne

In this intriguing and suspenseful 18th mystery in the series starring Sister Fidelma, an Irish merchant ship is attacked by a pirate vessel off the southern coast of the Breton peninsula. Merchad, the ship's captain, and Bressal, a prince from the Irish kingdom of Muman, are murdered in cold blood after they have surrendered. Fidelma of Cashel and Brother Eadulf barely escape, and after they reach shore Fidelma sets out with a vengeful fervor to find who is responsible for the attack—not only because her training demands it, but also because one of the victims was her cousin. Writing under the nom de plume Peter Tremayne for his historical fiction, author Peter Berresford Ellis is a prominent authority on the ancient Celts. His Ancient Ireland mystery series features Fidelma of Cashel—an advocate of the Brehon Courts, sister to the King of Cashel, and a sister of the Celtic Church—and is richly upholstered with Irish lore, law, religion, and mores.

"Returning home aboard an Irish merchant ship after the divisive Council of Autun (Council of the Cursed), Fidelma, Eadulf, and their shipmates are beset by marauding pirates, who ruthlessly murder both the captain and Fidelma's cousin, special envoy to her brother, Colgú, king of Muman.... Tremayne, a master of the medieval mystery, continues to shine as he sheds light on the twists and turns of both church history and the remarkably enlightened political and legal position accorded to women in 7th-century Ireland."—Booklist

Hardcover / 369 pages / Irish historical mystery