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| Shroud for the Archbishop (Sister Fidelma Mysteries) | 
 enlarge | Author: Peter Tremayne
Publisher: Signet
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $1.76
You Save: $5.23 (75%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (14 reviews)
Sales Rank: 111918
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0451193008
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780451193001
ASIN: 0451193008
Publication Date: July 1, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 11-14 of 14 | | « PREV | | |
 Ugh May 9, 1999
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
While this book is, at its best, interesting, it is mainly a mire of predictability and has an overpowering sermonic bent. Sister Fidelma is written as being almost superhumanly righteous. It's quite difficult to like her. The adoration of her ethnic background is heavy-handed. The behaviour of the characters is definitely a bit modern for the time setting. Sister Fidelma is apparently a 17th century Catholic, but her views really seem to differ quite strongly from the religious standard of the day. Peter Tremayne, however, shows some promise as a writer. The book was quite readable, just improbable, and irritating at times.
 Good second volume in an unusual historical series August 25, 1998
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Shroud for the Archbishop is a successful second volume in the Sister Fidelma series. The very detailed descriptions of Rome in the seventh century Dark Ages provide a good background to an interesting puzzle that is solved by a well-matched pair of sleuths. However, this second book and therefore the series labor under two disadvantages. (1) A lot of background social and historical information is repeated from the first volume, so smoother narrative for readers of an earlier volume is traded for accessibility to new readers. (2) Characterization falters because the role of Brother Eadulf of Canterbury is weakened. In this second volume, he is much more a Watson-like foil to Sister Fidelma and a less acute personage in his own right. Patronizing replaces parity. For me at least, that reduces the dramatic interest of the story.Still and all, Shroud for the Archbishop was pretty good and future volumes in the series are worth taking a look at.
 More about the 20th Century than the 7th. July 29, 1998
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I can't recommend this book. It has very little to do with 7th century Ireland or Rome, and, for that matter, very little to do with the good things about the 20th Century, such as tolerance. It has a great deal to do with the bad things about the 20th Century, such as ethnic hatred.The author has no feel for the period. Although oil lamps are mentioned several times, the chracters act as if they're more used to electric lights. There are many inconsistencies, some trivial, some not. When Sister Fidelma is rude to other characters we are supposed to admire her spunk, but when other characters are rude to her, we are expected to resent it on her behalf. The author is clearly uncomfortable in a Christian milieu, and especially in a monastic Christian milieu. He might have done better to set the books in pre-Christian Ireland, and better yet in a modern setting. A mystery set in pre-Christian or early Christian Ireland would be a worthwhile contribution to the! historical mystery genre. Until that book is written, give Sister Ethnic Hatred a miss.
 Recommended for the historical mystery buff. July 7, 1998
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Shroud for the Archbishop is a wonderful mystery that has all the right ingredients: a setting in mid-seventh century Rome, numerous murders, engaging characters and a lot of esoteric information about the early Celtic Church. Great stuff!
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