ABSOLUTION BY MURDER, Headline Book Publishing, London, September 1994. Hardcover, ISBN 0 7472 1106 X, £16.99 Headline Paperback ISBN 0-7472-4602-5, 1995, £4.99; reprint in new jacket November 1998. USA St Martin’s Press New York, hardcover ISBN 0-312-13918-7, January 5, 1996, with additional material “Sister Fidelma’s World” (an historical note), $21.95 USA Signet Books, New York, September 1997, ISBN 0-451- 19299-0 $5.99

As the leading churchmen and women gather at the Synod of Whitby in AD 664 to debate the rival merits of the Celtic and Roman Churches, tempers begin to fray. Conspirators, greedy for power, plot the assassination of King Oswy of Northumbria. And mysterious, violent death stalks the shadowy cloisters of the Abbey of St Hilda, while outside the abbey walls, the pestilence of the Yellow Plague devastates the countryside. When Abbess Etain, a leading speaker for the Celtic Church, is found murdered at the start of the Synod, suspicion inevitably rests on the Roman faction.

Attending the Synod is Fidelma, of the community of St Brigid of Kildare. Sister Fidelma, an advocate of the Brehon Court, is called upon to investigate the murder. But, because of the acute political tension of the situation, a member of the Roman faction must work with her. Brother Eadulf, a Saxon, is of a family of hereditary magistrates, so he too is eminently qualified for the task. However, the two are so unlike in temperament and cultural concepts that King Oswy describes their partnership as that of a wolf and a fox. But which is which?

More violent deaths follow and the friction among the clerics is beginning to split the kingdom into civil war. Can the solution to the mysteries avert such a disastrous conflict?

SHROUD FOR THE ARCHBISHOP, Headline Book Publishing, London, January, 1995. Hardback, ISBN 0 7472 1140 X. £16.99 Headline Paperback, September, 1995 ISBN 0 7427 4848 6 £4.99; reprinted with new jacket November, 1998 USA St Martin’s Press, New York, Hardcover, September, 1996. Price $23.95 ISBN 0-312-14734 1 USA Paperback Signet Books, New York, July, 1998, $5.99. ISBN 0 451 19300 8.

Wighard, archbishop of Canterbury, has been discovered garroted in his chambers in the Lateran Palace in Rome in the autumn of AD 664. The solution to this terrible crime appears simple as the palace custodes, its guards, have arrested an Irish religieux, Brother Ronan Ragallah, as he fled from Wighard’s chambers. Although the Irish monk denies responsibility, Bishop Gelasius, the nomenclator in charge of running affairs at the Lateran Palace, is convinced the crime is political; Wighard was slain in pique at the triumph of the pro Roman Anglo-Saxon clergy in their debate with the pro-Coloumba Irish clergy at Whitby. There is also a matter of missing treasure; the goodwill gifts Wighard had brought with him to Rome and the priceless chalices sent for the Holy Father Vitalian’s blessing have all been stolen.

Bishop Gelasius realises that Wighard’s murder could lead to war between the Saxon and Irish kingdoms if Ronan is accused without independent evidence. So he invites Sister Fidelma of Kildare and Brother Eadulf of Seaxmund’s Ham to investigate. They are assisted by a young Roman officer of the Lateran Palace custodes, Furius Licinius. But more deaths must follow before Fidelma is finally able to put together the strange jigsaw in this tale of evil and vengeance.

SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN, Headline Book Publishing, London, October, 1995. Hardcover, ISBN 0 7472 1340 2, £16.99 Headline Paperback, June 13, 1996; ISBN 0-7427 4849 4, £5.99; reprinted with new jacket June, 1998 USA St Martin’s Press, New York, ISBN 0 312 15665 0, August, 1997. $23.95. USA Paperback Signet Books, new York, ISBN 0 451 19557 4. February, 1999, $5.99

In the mid 7th century AD the Venerable Dacan, a much respected and beloved scholar of the Celtic Church, has been found murdered while on a visit to the Abbey of Ros Ailithir in the Irish kingdom of Muman.

The Venerable Dacan was a man of Laigin, the brother of its equally beloved Abbot Noe of Fearna, close confident to its newly crowned and impetuous young King. For centuries there has been enmity and tension between the kingdoms of Laigin and Muman and central to their quarrel is the control of the border lands of Osraige. In compensation for the death of Dacan, the young king of Laigin has demanded the land of Osraige – and that will mean bloody war.

Summoned by Muman’s dying king to investigate, Sister Fidelma’s task is both to solve the mystery of the brutal killing and also somehow to prevent the inevitable war breaking out between the two opposing kingdoms. She sets out for the remote abbey of Ros Ailithir with a warrior named Cass and very little time.

But there are more sinister forces at work behind Dacan’s death than just political intrigue. Through a haunting, melancholy atmosphere, Sister Fidelma follows a trail that is as suspenseful as it is tortuous, as complicated as it is surprising.

THE SUBTLE SERPENT, Headline Book Publishing, London, July, 1996. Hardcover, ISBN 0 7472 1651 7. £16.99 Headline Paperback, December, 1996, £5.99, ISBN 0 7472 52866; reprinted with new jacket June, 1998 USA Hardcover, St Martin’s Press, New York, June, 1998, $23.95 ISBN 0-312-186703 USA Paperback, Signet Books, New York, October, 1999, ISBN 0-451-19558-2 $5.99

A headless female corpse is found in the drinking well of a remote abbey in south-west Ireland. One hand clasps a crucifix; tied to the other arm is a pagan death symbol …

A merchant ship is encountered under full sail on the high seas off the Irish coast. But the crew and its cargo have vanished – as if by sorcery …

Whose is the body in the well? Where is the crew of the vessel? Are these bizarre events connected? And if so, who is responsible? The year is AD 666 and Sister Fidelma of Kildare, a religieuse and advocate of the Brehon law courts of the five kingdoms of Ireland, is thrown into another sinister mystery. The intrigue, danger and violence of ancient Ireland are proved palpitatingly real as Fidelma follows a trail of clues to a host of enigmatic suspects; the autocratic Abbess Draigen who has much to hide; the timid Sister Bronach, obviously escaping from something; the sly Brother Febal; and Adna, a petty chieftain with ruthless ambition, amongst many others. As Fidelma slowly begins to unravel the puzzle, the solution appears as complex as it is stunning.

THE SPIDER’S WEB, Headline Book Publishing, London, April, 1997. Hardcover. ISBN 0-7472-1652-5, £16.99 Headline Paperback, September, 1997, ISBN 0-7472-5287-4, £5.99: reprinted with new jacket June, 1998 USA Hardcover, St Martin’s Press, New York, May, 1999, $23.95, ISBN 0-312-20589-9. US Paperback Signet Books, October, 2000, ISBN 0-451-19559-0, £5.99

Eber is not a man to make enemies. He is a chieftain with a reputation for kindliness and generosity. Yet, one night, his household is aroused by a scream from his chamber. The servants burst in to find Moen, a young man to whom Eber had extended his protection, crouched over the bloody body of the chieftain. Moen’s clothes are drenched in Eber’s blood and he is clutching a bloodstained knife in his hand.

There seems no doubt of culpability, but why did Moen kill the gentle an courteous Eber? The problem is made more difficult by the fact that Moen himself cannot tell them – for he is deaf, dumb and blind …

The case proves to be anything but simple. That is when Sister Fidelma, advocate of the ancient Irish law courts, begins her investigation of the killing in order to present an argument on Moen’s behalf before he is condemned. Assisted by the faithful Brother Eadulf, and confronting many enigmatic, intriguing characters, Fidelma finds himself tackling her most difficult case yet. her path to the truth twists and turns with the sinister forces of primitive passions and subtle ambitions – and leads inexorably to a final, stunning denouement.

VALLEY OF THE SHADOW, Headline Book Publishing, London, 1998. Hardcover. ISBN 0-7472-2016-6. £16.99 Headline Paperback, August, 1998, £5.99 ISBN 0-7472-5780-9.  USA Hardcover St Martin’s Press, New York, March, 2000, $23.95 ISBN 0 32-20939-8. Paperback edition Signet July, 2001 $5.99 ISBN 0-451-20330-8

Sister Fidelma has been sent by her brother, king of Cashel, to Laisre, chieftain of Gleann Geis – the “forbidden valley” – to negotiate permission to build a Christian church and school in his territory, replacing the Druidic sanctuaries. In some remote corners of seventh century Ireland, Christianity has still not displaced the ancient pagan religion, and Laisre’s clan is known to be hostile to the new religion, fiercely adhering to the old.

Knowing her mission will be no easy task, Fidelma, accompanied by the Saxon brother Eadulf, enters Gleann Geis. Here they come across the naked, slain bodies of thirty-three young men, curiously placed as if in a sun-wise circle. Each body bears the marks of stabbing and garrotting; every skull has been smashed in.

Is this some ritual sacrifice? It bears the hallmark of the ancient threefold death of pagan times. The number thirty-three bears mystical symbolism. What evil lies here? And who is responsible if not the heathens of Gleann Geis?

The solution to the many mysteries Fidelma encounters is not easily arrived at. And as she proceeds through the “forbidden valley” = the valley of the shadow – she embarks on an inquiry fraught with more evil and personal danger than any she has encountered before.

THE MONK WHO VANISHED, Headline Book Publishing, London, February, 1999. Hardcover, ISBN 0-7472-2017-4 £16.99. Headline Paperback, August, 1999, £5.99, ISBN 0-7472-5781-7. USA Hardcover, St Martin’s Press, New York, $23.95, ISBN 0-312-24219-0.

The Abbey of Imleach, in the south west Irish kingdom of Muman, now rivals Armagh as the centre of the faith in Ireland. For the founder of the abbey was none other than St Ailbe, the man who brought Christianity to Muman, converted its King Oengus and, together with St Patrick, baptised him at Cashel in AD 448.

But now, calamity has struck the community of the Abbey of Imleach. not only has an elderly brother suddenly disappeared, but, almost worse for the harassed Abbot, the holy relics of St Ailbe have also vanished. St Ailbe’s sacred relics are not just the concern of the abbey’s community but are a price icon and political symbol of the entire kingdom. So who would have dared to take them? Both relics and the monk must be found!

Sister Fidelma, together with Saxon brother Eadulf, on a visit to Imleach, are asked to investigate. It seems there is more to the disappearances than meets the eye; much more. Fidelma gradually uncovers one of the most sinister conspiracies she has yet encountered, in which the participators will stop at nothing – even murder – to achieve their aims…

ACT OF MERCY, Headline Book Publishing, London, November, 1999. Hardcover, ISBN 0-7472-2018-2. £17.99. Headline Paperback, Spring, 2000, ISBN 0-7472- 5782-5, £5.99. USA, St Martins Press, New York, hardcover ISBN 0-312-26864-5, $23.95. USA, Signet Books, New York, June, 2003, ISBN 0-451-20908-7, $6.50.

When Sister Fidelma sets out on a pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine of St James in the late autumn of AD 666, her main preoccupation is to reflect on her commitment to the religious life and her relationship with the Saxon monk, Eadulf, whom she has left behind. The arrival, among the small band of pilgrims, of her first love, a man who had deserted her, complicates matters, stirring up memories she would rather forget. But there are more complications to come.

During the first night out, with the ship tossed about by a tempestuous sea, one of the pilgrims disappears, apparently washed overboard. The discovery of a bloodstained robe raises question; was the pilgrim murdered and thrown into the sea?

With the bless of the captain, Fidelma finds herself having to overcome her emotional ties and focus all her abilities on solving the mystery. But death dogs the tiny band of pilgrims in the close confines of the ship. Fidelma finds herself not only battling against the antagonism of her fellow pilgrims but struggling to survive the turbulent elements of the storm-tossed sea, as she attempts to solver a perplexing puzzle. It is not until the Holy Shrine is almost reached – and time is running out – that the amazing truth is uncovered…

HEMLOCK AT VESPERS – Fifteen Sister Fidelma Mysteries, Headline Book Publishing, London, March, 2000. Hardcover. ISBN 0-7472 7119 4. £17.99. USA Trade Paperback: St Martin’s Minotaur, St Martin’s Press, New York, March, 2000. ISBN 0-312-25288-9 $15.95. Headline paperback, November, 2000, ISBN 0-7472-6432-5, £5.99

Sister Fidelma originally made her debut as one of the decade’s most interesting sleuths in short story form. The red-haired, sharp witted and astonishingly wise religieuse captured the hearts of many readers as she successfully tackled the most baffling of crimes in her other role as dalaigh – or advocate – of the law courts of Ireland, using the ancient Brehon Law system.

It was the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response to these stories which launched Fidelma as the heroine of a bestselling series of Celtic crime novels set during the mid seventh century AD, Hemlock At Vespers is the first collection of these stories ever to be published.

With its breathtaking range of settings and crimes, it is guaranteed to entertain and intrigue – and is an anthology that no lover of Celtic culture or historical crime should be without.

OUR LADY OF DARKNESS, Headline Book Publishing, London, September, 2000. ISBN 0-7472-7120-8. £17.99. Headline paperback, May, 2001, ISBN 0-7472-6433-3, £5.99. St Martin’s Press, September, 2002. ISBN 0-312-27295-2 at $23.95. USA Signet Books, New York, publication date June 1, 2004, price $6.50 ISBN 0-451-21221-5

Arriving home from a pilgrim voyage, Sister Fidelma is told that her faithful Saxon companion, Brother Eadulf, has been found guilty of murdering a young girl. She hastens to the capital of the neighbouring kingdom of Laigin, where he is being held, determined to prove his innocence.

The crime took place at the abbey of Fearna where Fidelma clashes with the equally strong-willed but sinister Abbess Fainder. The evidence against Eadulf seems overwhelming; a terrible sordid story of sex, shame and murder. is it conceivable that Eadulf is actually guilty? Even Fidelma is forced to ask the question.

She has little time to discover the truth, however, for the King of Laigin is determined to make Eadulf an example. He has decided to give in to Abbess Fainder’s demand that the ecclesiastical Penitentials from Rome be used and not the native law system, which would have simply meant loss of rights and payment of compensation to the victim’s family. Ecclesiastical law demands “an eye for an eye” – Eadulf is due to be hanged.

In the gloomy atmosphere of the menacing abbey, Fidelma, struggling to put aside her emotional involvement, begins the desperate search for the truth; a search that will inspire sheer terror as her toughest investigation yet leads to shocking revelations.

SMOKE IN THE WIND, Headline Book Publishing, London, September, 2001, ISBN 0-7472-7121-6. £17.99; St. Martin’s Press, NYC, July, 2003, ISBN 0-312-28780-01, $23.95; Paperback, Headline Book Publishing, March 4, 2002, ISBN 0-7472-6434-1, Price £5.99.Signet, New York, ISBN 0-451-21553-2, June 7, 2005, $6.99

There seemed no disarray anywhere to account for why the meal appeared to have been deserted halfway through the eating of it. Stools and benches were pushed back as if everyone had risen but he saw nothing that indicated any confusion or panic. At a given moment, before the meal had ended, the brethren had simply stood up, leaving everything in an orderly manner, and / and vanished!

En route from Ireland to visit the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Sister Fidelma and her faithful Saxon companion, Brother Eadulf, find themselves on the coast of the Welsh kingdom of Dyfed when their ship is blown off course by a storm. The elderly King Gwlyddien is quick to offer hospitality, not last because the famous Irish dálaigh may be the only person capable of solving the mystery which has baffled the wisest of men – the entire monastic community of nearby Llanpadern, to which Gwlyddie’s eldest son belongs, has vanished into thin air.

Who, or what, is behind the disappearance of the monks? Is it sorcery or some sinister plot – and what does the perpetrator hope to achieve? But before Fidelma and Eadulf can begin to answer these questions, they must contend with the shocking and seemingly unrelated murder of a local girl – a death whose consequences will be more tragic and more far-reaching than anyone can imagine.

Sister Fidelma’s tenth full-length mystery takes her to a new Celtic land, where she finds herself embroiled in a case as perplexing as it is spine-chilling.

THE HAUNTED ABBOT, Headline Book Publishing, London, September 2, 2002, in hardback. ISBN 0-7472-7122-4 at £17.99. February, 2003, Headline, London. Paperback. ISBN 0-7472-6435-X £5.99; St Martin Minotaur, New York, ISBN 0-312-28769-0, May, 2003, $24.95. Paperback. ISBN 0-451-21716-0. $6.99. December 2005, Signet, New York.

As with all current HEADLINE editions, the artist is Lee Gibbons who has turned, as usual, to a genuine Celtic motif for the central illustration. The goose was a symbol of the Celtic gods of war. This motif was used on the war helmet worn by a figure of a Celtic war goddess or female warrior from the 1st Century BC, founded at Kerguilly en Dinault in Brittany.

It needed little medical knowledge to realise that Brother Botulf’s skull had been smashed in by some heavy, blunt instrument. The realisation came to Eadulf that such wounds could only have bee inflicted by someone whose strength lay in malice. That his friend had been murdered and the event must have occurred scarcely more than a few hours before. At that moment, the wind rose again, shrieking like a chorus of souls in torment shrieking like a presage of evil.

Their business with the Archbishop of Canterbury now complete, Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf must make one final journey before returning home to Ireland – to the village of Seaxmund’s Ham in the land of the South Folk – where Eadulf grew up. But a mysterious message from his childhood friend, Brother Botulf, finds them making an unexpected detour to the nearby Aldred’s Abbey, where Botulf has requested their presence at a very particular time on a very particular day – midnight on the old pagan feast of Yule.

Puzzled and intrigued by their summons, Fidelma and Eadulf battle against the harsh winter storms to make their appointment, only to find they have, nevertheless, arrived too late. Botulf is dead – killed by an unknown hand.

And as they struggle to comprehend this staggering news, it soon becomes clear that the murder of this young monk is not the only trouble facing the abbey. Another less tangible danger threatens – the ghost of a young woman haunts the cloister shadows – a woman some say bears a startling likeness to the Abbot Cild’s dead wife. But can Fidelma and Eadulf discover the truth before they themselves fall victim to the danger which pervades the abbey walls?

BADGER’S MOON, Headline Book Publishing, London. Hardback. September, 2003. ISBN 0-7553-0223-0. £18.99. Headline, London. Paperback. ISBN 0-7553 0334 9. £6.99. March, 2004. St Martin’s Minotaur, New York, ISBN 0-312-32341-7, March, 2005, $23.95.Signet, New York, due July, 2006, $6.99

A series of horrific murders has brought terror to the Kingdom of Muman. Three young girls have been slaughtered with unspeakable violence on the nights of consecutive full moons.

Suspicion falls on three dark strangers from the distant land of Aksum (Ethiopia), who are guests at the Abbey of Finbarr, and a panic-stricken mob attacks the community, leaving the religious in fear for their lives. Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf are called in to restore order and it soon becomes clear that while the three mysterious strangers are definitely hiding something, there are other more likely suspects for the murders. What about the ageing Laig, a hermit-like apothecary, who is known to have instructed all three victims about the magic and power of the moon; what sinister truths are hidden in his dark woodland dwelling?

As Fidelma struggles to repair her faltering relationship with Eadulf, can she uncover the truth before the next full moon, when the killer will strike again?

WHISPERS OF THE DEAD – A Collection of Ancient Irish Mysteries, Headline Book Publishing, London. Hardback. ISBN 0-7553-0229-X. £18.99. US edition – St Martin’s Minotaur (trade paperback), St Martin’s Press, New York, 370pp, ISBN 0-312-30382-3. Price $14.95. Pub. date May, 2004. Headline Books, paperback, London, ISBN 0-7553-0230-5, September, 2004. £6.99

“The dead always whisper to us. It is our task to listen to the whispers of the dead.”

Whispers of the Dead is a sumptuously rich feast of fifteen short mystery tales, never before published in book form, featuring the brilliant and beguiling Sister Fidelma. Although the heroine of a series of bestselling novels, Sister Fidelma, the seventh-century sleuth of the Celtic Church, made her debut in short story form. Hemlock at Vespers was the first collection of fifteen early tales. Now Whispers of the Dead brings entirely new adventures.

This collection contains an astonishing range of crimes and misdemeanors and seamlessly blends historical detail, character and story into mysteries that will confound and surprise. Whispers of the Dead is Sister Fidelma at her very best.

“In the simultaneously sharp-witted and full womanly figure of Sister Fidelma, Tremayne has created a heroine whom many readers will willingly follow” Kirkus Reviews

THE LEPER’S BELL, Headline Book Publishing, London, September 6, 2004, in hardback. ISBN 0-7553-0225-7at £18.99. St. Martin’s Minotaur, NYC, hardcover, January, 2006, ISBN 0-312-32343-3. $23.95. Headline UK paperback, March 5, 2005, £6.99, ISBN 0-7553-0336-5. US paperback, St Martin’s Minotaur, October, 2006, $13.95, 0-312-36275-7.

THE LEPER’S BELL sees Sister Fidelma set out to solve one of her most dangerous and personal crimes yet.

A servant has been murdered. The baby in her charge has been abducted. Fidelma of Cashel has solved even more horrendous crimes in her career as an advocate of the ancient Brehon Courts of Ireland. But this case is different. For both Sister Fidelma and her companion, Brother Eadulf of Saxmund’s Ham, the case is unique because of the personal emotions involved. The baby who has been abducted is their son. What is the motive for their crime? Could someone seeking vengeance on Fidelma and Eadulf have done the deed?

They have made a lot of enemies in their pursuit of justice. Fidelma and Eadulf, ignoring protests that they are too emotionally involved to undertake the investigation, set out on what proves to be one of the most dangerous cases they have ever undertaken…

MASTER OF SOULS, Headline Book Publishing, London, ISBN 0-7553-0227-3, price Str£18.99, Pub.date September 5, 2005. US hardback, St Martin’s Minotaur, November 14, 2006, $24.94, ISBN 0-312-34832-0. UK paperback, Headline, ISBN 0-7553-0228-1, March, 2006, £6.99. US paperback: St Martins Minotaur, New York, ISBN 0-312-37467-4, Price $13.95, September, 2007.

A storm-driven night. Wreckers deliberately drive a helpless merchant ship on to a rocky shire on the west coast of Ireland. Abbess Faife, leading a pilgrimage to a holy mountain, is slaughtered, and her six companions, young female religieuse, are abducted. An ageing ecclesiastical scholar is murdered in the oratory of the Abbey of Ard Fhearta. Do these bizarre events have a connection?

Sister Fidelma and her companion, Brother Eadulf, are asked to go to Ard Fhearta to examine the mystery at the request of Abbess Faife’s nephew.

But the Abbey of Ard Fhearta stands in the territory of the Uí Fidgente, blood enemies of Fidelma and her brother, Colgú, King of Cashel, for the nephew of Abbess Faife, is none other than Conrí, warlord of the Uí Fidgente.

Many dangers threaten Fidelma and Eadulf from the time of their arrival at the gates of the abbey.

Who is the mysterious `master of souls’? Has the evil Uaman the Leper, Lord of the Passes, returned from what was presumed his watery grave? Is he the shadowy `master’ spreading death and corruption across the land? Or is the bombastic chieftain, Slébáne of the Corco Duibhne, playing some malevolent power game of his own? What malicious hazards await Fidelma and her companion on the tiny, storm-blown Seanach’s Island, where only a small group of hermits are supposed to dwell?

In a brutal and unforgiving seventh-century Irish landscape, Fidelma and Eadulf face one of their most perilous undertakings yet!

A PRAYER FOR THE DAMNED, Headline Book Publishing, London, September, 2006. Hardcover, ISBN 0 7553 2836 1, £19.99; Headline paperback, published February 5, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7553-2837-6, Price £6.99. US hardcover: St Martins Minotaur, New York, ISBN 0-312-34833-5, Price $24.95, November, 2007. St Martin’s Minotaur, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, paperback ISBN 13-978-0-312-37789-2. Pub. date, September, 2008, Price $11.99.

February, AD 668, and Cashel is full of distinguished visitors. The reason Under the old Irish custom, Fidelma of Cashel and Eadulf of Seaxmund’s Ham, having been joined together for a year and a day, are to be married. But on the eve of the ceremony, the pious Abbot Ultan, who has travelled from the far north to attend, is found murdered in his chamber. Worst still – one of the most distinguished guests, the King of Connacht, has been seen fleeing from the scene and is charged with the murder. He demands his right to appoint Fidelma in his defence. Quickly Fidelma discovers that Abbot Ultan is not the pious man he was thought to be — indeed, many of the guests have cause to hate him. It is a long weekend of suspicion, fear and more death before Fidelma and Eadulf are able to reveal to their restless and querulous guests the truth behind Ultan’s murder.

DANCING WITH DEMONS, Headline Book Publishing, London, hardcover, 274pp. ISBN 978-0-7553-2838-3, September, 2007, £19.99. Headline paperback, ISBN 978-0-7553-2839-0, £7.99, March, 2008. St Martin’s Minotaur, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA. hardcover. ISBN 0-312-37564-0, Pub. date October 28, 2008. Price $24.95. St Martin’s Minotaur, New York, paperback, November 2009, ISBN 978-0-312-58741-3. $13.99.

When Sechnssach, High King of Ireland, is found dead in his bedchamber with his throat cut, all clues point to Dubh Duin, the chieftain of the clan Cinál Cairpre. For he was found with the murder weapon in his hand when the High King’s guards entered the royal chamber. But rather than surrender, or protest his innocence, Dubh Duin took his own life.

The Chief Brehon of Ireland asks Sister Fidelma to find out what possible motives could have driven Dubh Duin to assassinate the High King. Everyone seems to have an opinion on this shocking murder but the Chief believes that the real truth is yet to be uncovered. Fidelma, assisted by her trusted partner, Brother Eadulf and accompanied by two Cashel warriors, sets out for the High King’s palace at Tara.

Their investigation reveals an intricate web of conspiracy and deception that surrounded Sechnussach while he was alive and one that has only grown more entangled since his death. If those responsible are not discovered in time these intrigues threaten to unbalance the five kingdoms and send them spiralling into a violent and bloody civil war.

COUNCIL OF THE CURSED, Headline Book Publishing, London, hardcover, 320pp. ISBN 978-0755328406, July 2008, £19.99. Headline, London, A Format paperback, March 5, 2009, £6.99 ISBN 978-0-7553-49180, Headline, London B Format paperback, March 5, 2009, £7.99, ISBN 978-0-7553-2841-3. St Martins Minotaur, New York, hardcover, ISBN 978-0-312-37565-2. $24.99. Pub. date, November, 2009. US paperback edition, St Martins Minotaur, ISBN 978-0-312-60493, November 23, 2010, $14.99.

When Bishop Leodegar of Autun calls upon the church leaders from western Europe to attend a council, it is to be a meeting haunted by sudden death and intrigue. It’s AD 670, and the Council of Autun is meeting to discuss serving a final devastating blow to the Celtic Church. But when a conflict between two delegate results in the murder of the chief delegate from Hibernia, the entire Council is in danger. Sister Fidelma and her companion, Brother Eadulf, arrive in Autun to act as advisors to the Irish delegation. Between the autocratic Bishop Leodegar and the malignant abbess, Mother Audofleda, a web of sinister intrigue soon spreads. The theft of a priceless reliquary box, the disappearance of women and children and rumours of a slave trade make this one of the most sinister puzzles that Fidelma and Eadulf have ever faced…

THE DOVE OF DEATH, Headline Book Publishing, London, hardcover, 384pp. ISBN978-0755347230, July 2009, £19.99.UK paperback (A Format), 434pp, ISBN 978-0-7553-4724-7, pub. date February 4, 2010, Price Str£6.99 and UK paperback (B Format), 434pp, ISBN 978-7553-5762-8, pub. date February 4, 2010, Price Str£7.99. US hardcover edition St Martins Minotaur, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. ISBN 978-0-312-55120-9. Pub. October 26, 2010, $25.99. US paperback, Minotaur Books, St. Martins Publishing Group, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA. September 27, 2011. ISBN 978-0-312-60927-6. Price $14.99.

AD 670. An Irish merchant ship is attacked by a pirate vessel off the coast of the Breton peninsular. Murchad, the captain, and a prince from the kingdom of Muman, are killed in cold blood after they have surrendered. Among the other passengers who manage to escape the slaughter are Sister Fidelma of Cashel and her faithful companion, Brother Eadulf. The prince was Fidelma’s cousin and she is determined to bring the killers to justice…

THE CHALICE OF BLOOD, Headline Book Publishing, London, Pub. July 8, 2010. ISBN 978-0-7553-4725-4. Price £19.99; UK paperback (B format), 433pp, March 2, 2011, ISBN 978-0-7553-5776-5. £7.99; UK paperback, Headline Publishing, 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH, UK. ISBN 978-0-7553-5776-5. Price £7.99. February, 2011; USA hardcover, Minotaur Books, St Martins Publishing Group, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA, October 25, 2011. ISBN 978-0-312-55152-6. Price $25.99; USA paperback, Minotaur Books, St Martins Press, ISBN 978-1-250-00407-9, August, 2012 $14.99.

Ireland, AD 670. When an eminent scholar is found murdered in his cell in the abbey of Lios Mór, fear spreads among his brethren: his door was secured from the inside, with no other means of entrance or exit. How did his murderer escape? And what was the content of the manuscripts apparently stolen from the scholar’s room?

Abbot Iarnla insists on sending for Sister Fidelma and her companion Brother Eadulf, to investigate the killing. But even before they reach the abbey, there is an attempt on their lives. As the mystery deepens, Fidelma and Eadulf must wrestle with problems of their own, which threatens to separate them forever…

BEHOLD A PALE HORSE, Headline Book Publishing,338 Euston Road, London, ISBN 978-0-7553-7747-3, July 7, 2011, £19.99. Headline Publishing, UK paperback, March 1, 2012, £7.99, ISBN 978-0-7553-7748-0; USA hardcover, Minotaur Books, St Martins Publishing Co., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA. ISBN 978-0-312-65863-2. July 15, 2012, $25.99; US paperback, St Martins Minotaur, June 25, 2013, $15.99, ISBN 978-1-230-02997-3.

It is AD 664 and Sister Fidelma finds herself in the seaport of Genua, en route from Rome back to her native Cashel. Her old teacher, Brother Ruadán, lies dying in the abbey of Bobium – an isolated abbey in a disturbed country where even the Christians are in blood conflict with one another and the worship of the pagan gods often prevails.

Fidelma is determined to see Brother Ruadán before he dies. But from the moment she enters the beautiful valley of the Trebbia, there is danger on every side. Her dying teacher’s last words send her off on her most dangerous adventure where murder follows murder and a vicious civil war threatens before an extraordinary conspiracy is revealed. And from the start, Fidelma is on her own.

*This story is a chronological sequel to Shroud for the Archbishop. Readers have noted – and asked about – this “break” in the “timeline” of the novels, as Behold A Pale Horse immediately follows the events of Shroud For The Archbishop. The IN PUBLICATION ORDER chronology we give on the News page is that of the book release dates. Behold A Pale Horse is the only novel that the author has published out of chronological story sequence. However, the problem lies in Hemlock at Vespers and Whispers of the Dead and, indeed, Die Wahrheit ist der Lüge Tod (a German language volume of previously uncollected Fidelma stories) which contain a number of short stories that pre-date Eadulf – and some of the later ones are set in Fidelma’s first years at Brehon Morann’s law school.

THE SEVENTH TRUMPET, Headline Book Publishing, 338 Euston Road, London, ISBN 978-0-7553-7750-3, July 7, 2012, £19.99. Headline Publishing, UK paperback, March, 2013, ISBN 978-0-7553-7751-0. £8.99; US hardcover, St Martins Press, July 7, 2013, $25.99, ISBN 978-0-312-658625. St Martins Minotaur, New York, USA. Paperback – Pub date June 24, 2014, ISBN 978-1-25004-856.

670 AD. The body of an unknown young noble is found murdered not far from Cashel. The only clue to his identity is the emblem he was wearing – the emblem of the ruling house of the neighbouring kingdom of Laigen. When King Colgú of Cashel sends his sister, Fidelma, and her companion, Eadulf, to investigate, they are propelled into one of their most dangerous and perplexing mysteries. They find themselves struggling with a tangled skein of murder and intrigue; a bewildering conspiracy and, moreover, physical jeopardy.

Is the eruption of violence that has broken out in the west of the kingdom connected? Who is the fanatical figure who leads the violence, claiming to have been summoned by “the seventh angel” to drive the “impure of faith” from the land? What is the mystery that connects the dead noble, a murdered alcoholic priest, and a menacing abbot who has built his abbey into a military fortress rather than a religious community? What evil stirs out of the shadowy Gleann na nGeilt, the Glen of Lunatics? Fidelma herself becomes the victim of abduction and it is up to Eadulf to find and save her from imminent death. Should he beware of the attractive Princess of the Éile or her neighbours, the Osraige, a border people with a reputation for being untrustworthy? Who is the handsome young poet who seems to be a key to bringing together the strands of a complex plot to overthrow the Eóghanacht ruling house of Muman of which Fidelma-s brother is the head? This is one of Fidelma’s most baffling investigations yet.

ATONEMENT OF BLOOD, Headline Book Publishing, London, July, 2013. Hardback £19,99, ISBN 978-077663-7753-4. Headline paperback, February 27, 2014, £7.99, 978-0-7553-7754-1. St Martins Minotaur, New York, USA, Hardcover – Pub date July 22, 2014, ISBN 13: 978-1-25004-6009. $25.99. St Martins Minotaur, New York, US. Paperback – published June 30, 2015, ISBN 13: 978-1-2500 6852-5.

Winter, 670 AD. It is the feastday of the Blessed Colmán, former royal poet of Cashel. King Colgú has invited the leading nobles and chieftains of his kingdom to the festivities. As the feast is about to begin, the gathering is interrupted by the arrival of a religieux from the Abbey of Mungairit claiming that he has an important message for the King.

As he approaches the King, the man draws a knife, and shouting ‘Remember Liamuin!’ strikes. King Colgú is badly wounded and, as the would-be assassin prepares to strike again, the Chief Brehon Áedo is killed trying to protect him. The assassin is slain but Colgú is on the verge of death.

Who is Liamuin? It is a female name. Who is behind the assassination attempt? That is the task faced by Colgú’s lawyer sister, Fidelma of Cashel, and her companion, Brother Eadulf. Tracking down the clues, they have to journey into the territory of their arch-enemies, the Uí Fidgente, Does the evil secret lie in the dark, brooding Abbey of Mungairit, or in the equally threatening mountain fastness ruled by the godless tyrant Fidaig of Sliabh Luachra? Danger and violence are their constant companions until the final surprise revelation.

THE DEVIL’S SEAL, Headline Book Publishing, 338 Euston Road, London, UK. ISBN 978 0 7553 4, Str19.99. Hardback. Pub date July 18, 2014. Headline, UK, paperback, February 20, 2015, ISBN 978 1 47229 8323. St Martins Minotaur, New York, USA, hardcover, due July, 2015.  

‘Be warned people of Cashel – the son of chaos will reclaim this place and death and destruction will follow!’

When a curious deputation of religieux arrives in Cashel, death follows close behind and Sister Fidelma and her companion, Eadulf, seem unable to stem the bloodshed and discover the sinister reason behind it.

Is one of the deputation responsible? What was the Venerable Verax, the elderly scholar from Rome, hiding? Was there an evil secret behind the austere and arrogant Bishop Arwald of Magonsaete? Indeed, what was the real reason behind Eadulf’s own brother, Egric’s, unexpected appearance at Cashel to coincide with these events?

Victims and suspects combined to make a tangled skein that results in one of the most complex and bloody mysteries that Fidelma and Eadulf have ever had to face.

THE SECOND DEATH, Headline Publishers, 338 Euston Road, London UK. July 16, 2015. Hardcover. Price £19.99. ISBN 978-1-4722-0835-4. St Martins Minotaur, NYC hbk. 978-1250081766, $26.99 July, 26, 2016. Headline paperback,  Headline Publishing, 50 Victoria Embankment, London, March, 2016,  ISBN 978-1-422-0834-7  Price £8.99.

Ireland, AD 671. The Great Fair of Bealtain is almost upon the fortress of Cashel, and a line of painted wagons carries entertainers to mark the occasion. But preparations take a deathly turn when one of the carriages is set alight, and two corpses are found, lying poisoned, within.

As Sister Fidelma and her companion, Eadulf, investigate, they are quickly plunged into the menacing marshlands of Osraige – where the bloody origin of the Abbey of Cainnech is wreaking is still casting a grotesque shadow over the inhabitants and beyond.

What is the symbolism of the Golden Stone, and who are the mysterious members of the Fellowship of the Raven? Fidelma and Eadulf must face a real and mortal danger before they can untangle the evil that strikes at the very heart of the kingdom.

PENANCE OF THE DAMNED, Headline hardcover, Headline Publishing, Carmelite House, Victoria Ebankment, London EC4.  ISBN 1-4722-0837-9 July 14, 2016. £19.99. Headline UK pbk. March 23, 2017. ISBN 978-1-4722-0838-5. £8.99. St Martins Minotaur, New York, USA, Hardcover – Pub date July 25, 2017, ISBN 13: 978-250-11964-3. $27.99

Ireland, 671 AD. King Colgú of Cashel is shocked to learn that his loyal Chief Bishop and advisor has been murdered in the old enemy fortress of the Uí Fidgente. When word reaches Cashel that the culprit will be executed under new law, a large conflict threatens.

Dispatched to investigate, Sister Fidelma and her companion Eadulf discover that the man facing punishment is Gormán – commander of the King’s bodyguard. Fidelma cannot believe Gormán would carry out such and act – and yet he was found locked in a chamber, with the body, weapon in hand. The evidence is stacked against him.

If they are to save Gormán and keep the peace between the kingdoms, Fidelma and Eadulf must find the true culprit. As the threat of war looms, the fate of execution draws ever closer.

NIGHT OF THE LIGHTBRINGER, Headline hardcover, Headline Publishing, Carmelite House, Victoria Ebankment, London EC4. ISBN 1472238699 June 29, 2017. £19.99. Headline UK paperback, ISBN 978-1-4722-3870-2, March, 2018, Price £9.99; USA edition Severn House, Tennessee, May 1, 2018, Hardback ISBN 0-7278-88174  Price $28.99. Severn House Paperback August 4, 2020 ISBN 13-978-184751-928-3. $17.95
Ireland, 671 AD. On the eve of the pagan feast of Samhain, Brother Eadulf and the warrior, Aidan, discover a man murdered in an unlit pyre in the heart of Cashel. He has been dressed in the robes of a religieux and killed by the ritualistic ‘three deaths.’

When a strange woman known as Branche appears in a raven-feather cloak foretelling of ancient gods returning to exact revenge upon the mortal world, she is quickly branded a suspect.

But in their search for the killer, Sister Fidelma and Eadulf will soon discover a darker shadow looming over the fortress. For their investigation is linked to a book stolen from the Papal Secret Archives which could destroy the New Faith in the Five Kingdoms… and Fidelma herself will come up against mortal danger before the case is unraveled.

BLOODMOON, Headline Book Publishing, London, July 12, 2018, 352 pages, Hardcover £20.99, Kindle £13.99, ISBN 13 978 147 2238733. Headline UK pbk. March 7, 2019. ISBN 978-1-4722-3872-6. £8.99. US hardback edition Severn House, Tennessee, August 1, 2018, ISBN 978 0 7278 88181, $28.99; US Paperback Severn House, September 2020, ISBN 978 1 8475 1929 0.

Ireland, AD 671. Sister Fidelma has a mission, and she is sworn by oath to reveal her purpose to no other. The secret investigation leads Fidelma and her companions to the abbey of Finnbarr to question the abbot. But before they have a chance to speak to him, the abbot is found murdered – and the young girl suspected of the crime has fled the scene.

Despite their protests, Fidelma’s cohorts agree to accompany her in pursuit of the girl for answers. But as vicious rumours spread, accusing Fidelma’s family, the Eóghanacht Kings of Cashel, of conspiring to assassinate the High King and abduct his wife, Sister Fidelma’s life is placed in mortal danger.

Unable to tell the truth of her quest to anyone, including her husband Eadulf, Fidelma’s time is running out – and now she has no choice but to face the challenge, and her enemies, alone.

BLOOD IN EDEN, Headline UK, July 11, 2019, ISBN 978-1472238757, 352 pp hardcover £19.99, Kindle £13,99. Headline UK pbk. March 5, 2020. ISBN 978-1-4722-3676-4. £9.99. US hardback edition, Severn House, Tennessee, July 11, 2019, ISBN 978-0727889362, 320 pp hardcover, $28.99; US Paperback Severn House, August 3, 2021, $17.95, ISBN 978-1780296333.

Ireland, AD 671. The hamlet of Cloichán is said to be a veritable Eden, with its prosperous farms and close knit friendly community.

But when Sister Fidelma and Eadulf arrive a new priest has ordered the villages to lynch a man accused of murdering a local farmer, his wife and two sons. The only evidence they hold against him is the fact that he is a stranger to their land.

Saving the man’s life Fidelma is determined that the villagers must give the newcomer a fair trial. But there is to be more blood in Eden and more lives will be lost as long-standing friends become new-found enemies, and no one knows who to trust.

THE SHAPESHIFTER’S LAIR, Headline UK, July 2020, ISBN 9781472265371, hardcover £20.99. Headline UK paperback February 2021, ISBN 978-1-4722-6538-8. Str£9.99; Severn House USA, July 2020, ISBN 978 07278 8964 5, hardcover $28.99. Severn House USA, 26 July 2021, trade paperback $17.95.

Ireland, AD 672. The body of a dead man has been found on a lonely mountain road and taken to the isolated abbey of Gleann Da Loch for a proper burial. The abbot quickly identifies him as Brehon Brocc, who had been travelling to the abbey on a secret mission with Princess Gelgeis and her steward. When news reaches Colgu, King of Muman, that his betrothed, Princess Gelgeis, has disappeared, Fidelma with her trusted companions, Eadulf and Enda, enter the hostile Kingdom of Laigin in search of the truth.

But one death is quickly followed by another and warnings of demonic shapeshifters and evil lurking in the mountains must be taken seriously. Are there really brigands stealing gold and silver from the ancient mines? And are rumours of a war between the Kingdoms of Laigin and Muman to be believed? As Fidelma searches for answers, she must do everything in her power to avoid danger and death in a land where no one is to be trusted.

THE HOUSE OF DEATH, Headline UK, July 8, 2021, ISBN 9781472205401, hardcover £20.99. Headline UK paperback March 3, 2022, ISBN 978-1-4722-6541-8. Str£9.99; Severn House, USA, September 3, 2021, ISBN 978 0 72788965 2 $28.99; Severn House, USA paperback ISBN 978-1-4483-0568-1, March 2022, 320pp. $17.99

Ireland, AD 672, The Feast of Beltaine is approaching and the seven major princes of the kingdom of Muman are gathering at Cashel to discuss King Colgú’s policies. Just days before the council meets, Brother Conchobhar, the keeper of the sacred sword, is found murdered.

Sister Fidelma and her brother Colgú fear that the killer had been trying to steal the sword that symbolises the King’s authority to rule. And as rumours begin to spread of an attempt to overthrow Colgú, news reaches Cashel that a plague ship has landed at a nearby port, bringing the deadly pestilence to its shores. Amid fear and panic, Fidelma, Eadulf and Enda must work together to catch a killer as the death roll starts to mount…

DEATH OF A HERETIC, Headline Book Publishing, London, July 2022. Hardcover £20.99. ISBN 13-978-1472265432. Severn House, USA, August 2022, Hardcover $29.99, ISBN 978 0 7278 8966 9; eBook $24.99, ISBN 978 1 4483 0776 0; Headline paperback March 17, 2023, £10.94 ISBN 13-9781472265499; Severn House, USA paperback ISBN 978 1 4483 0777 7, April 2023, 320pp. $18.99

Ireland, AD 672. The premier abbey of Muman at Imleach Iubhair is being rebuilt when its guests’ hostel is razed to the ground by an overnight fire. There is one fatal casualty. Bishop Brodulf of Luxovium, a distinguished visitor and cousin to the King of Franks.

Passing by chance, Fidelma and her companions, Eadulf, with the warrior Enda, are asked by Abbot Cuán to investigate the cause of the fire and death. They find that the Bishop had been stabbed to death before the fire had even started.

Thrown into a claustrophobic world of intrigue, treachery and jealousy, where even fundamental religious beliefs are still developing and vehemently disputed, Fidelma and Eadulf are faced with resentment, distrust and a barrier of deceit. The abbey, a leading ecclesiastical teaching institution as well as a conhospitae, housing both sexes, is divided into factions, distrustful of each other.

Can Abbot Cuán trust Prioress Suanach, who is in charge of the sisterhood of the abbey? Can the senior professors trust each other as well as their students, some of whom are Franks from the dead bishop’s homeland? What of the dead bishop’s own devious companions? Moreover, can suspicion be levelled at the builders working on renovating the abbey under their dominant Master Builder, Sítae?

More deaths are discovered before the complications can begin to unravel in the most intricate mystery ever faced by Fidelma.

REVENGE OF THE STORMBRINGER, Headline Book Publishing, London, 6 July 2023. Hardcover, ISBN 9781472296054, £22, as well as eBook £12.99, Kindle £12.99 and the Audio (read by Caroline Lennon) CD-MP3 at £24.99 (Paperback due March 14, 2024 at £10.99); Severn House, USA hardback, December 5, 2023, ISBN 9781448369801 $31.99 – Ebook December 5, 2023, ISBN 9781448312580 $24.99.

Summer, AD 672. Princess Gelgéis has arrived in Cashel with her personal bodyguard, a troop of female warriors called the Daughters of the Storm. When one of them is found slain next to the sleeping chamber of the newly married king and queen and, a short time later, the stewardess of the royal house is poisoned, questions are raised as to everyone’s safety…

Fidelma and Eadulf must first explain the ‘locked room’ mystery of how the attack took place in King Colgu’s specially built secure apartment. Then they must interrogate the growing list of suspects – even Enda, the commander of the household guard, who had formed a romantic attachment to the murdered attendant, cannot be ignored…

As the fair being held to celebrate the king and queen’s wedding approaches, tensions mount and Fidelma must work quickly to expose a ruthless killer before it is too late…

PROPHET OF BLOOD, Headline Book Publishing, London, July 2024. Hardcover, ISBN 978 1 4722 9609 2, £22; as well as eBook ISBN 9 781 4722 9611 5 £22; and Audible downloadable (read by Caroline Lennon) ISBN 9 781 4722 9612 2 at £24.99. Paperback due out March, 13, 2025 – £10.99  ISBN 978-1-4722-9610-8; Severn House, USA, October 1, 2024, ISBN Hardback 978 1 4483 1258 0, 352pp., $29.99.

Autumn, AD 672. While out walking, Abbot Brocc was shocked to encounter the sinister apparition of a young woman, cloaked entirely in grey, who foretold his impending death. Dismissing the soothsayer’s words, Brocc nevertheless felt concerned enough to ask for Sister Fidelma’s advice on the matter.
But, by the time Fidelma and her companions arrive at the remote abbey of Dair Inis, Brocc has been found dead in the abbey’s sweat house – as the mysterious prophetess had predicted.
Plunged into a world of uncertainty, where believers of the Old and New Faiths are violently opposed, Fidelma, Eadulf, and Dego embark on a journey fraught with danger, in a puzzling and perilous quest for the truth behind Brocc’s murder…?

GRAVE OF THE LAWGIVER, Headline Book Publishing, London, July 17, 2025. Hardcover, ISBN ‎978-1035423125, £16.99; Kindle, ASIN ‎B0DG8R3NR3, 352pp.

The year is AD 673. Fidelma accompanies Eadulf to his hometown, Seaxmund’s Ham in the Kingdom of the East Angles, to be greeted with the shocking news that Eadulf’s uncle, Athelnoth, the lawgiver, has been murdered and his house burnt down. And Eadulf’s younger sister is missing. The locals accuse Fidelma and Eadulf of the crimes, and Fidelma’s safety is threatened by the first council of the bishops and kings of the Angles and Saxons, who wish to expel all Hibernian missionaries and teachers from the kingdoms. Against this opposition, Fidelma and Eadulf must unite to solve one of their most complex mysteries yet.