Book reviews: Shroud for the Archbishop and The Subtle Serpent by Peter Tremayne

At my previously mentioned thrift store book splurge, I found two more books in the Sister Fidelma mysteries by Peter Tremayne. Shroud for the Archbishop is the second book in the series and takes

place right after Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf arrive in Rome, a trip they were ordered to take at the end of the first book. Here's the Amazon summary, edited for length:

Wighard, archbishop designate of Canterbury, has been discovered garrotted 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 guards have arrested Brother Ronan Ragallach as he fled from Wighard's chamber. Although the Irish monk denies responsibility, Bishop Gelasius is convinced the crime is political and that Wighard was slain in pique at the triumph of the pro-Roman Anglo-Saxon clergy in their debate with the pro-Columba Irish clergy at Whitby. There is also a matter of missing treasure: the goodwill gifts Wighad had brought with him to Rome and the priceless chalices sent for the Holy Father Vitalian's blessings 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 [a Saxon] to investigate. But more deaths must follow before Fidelma is finally able to put together the strange jigsaw in this tale of evil and vengeance.

I enjoyed this one because it was set in Rome, which I have visited, and the catacombs make an appearance. I liked how all the different nationalities and cultures mingled and lived side by side. I also liked how the whole relics market thing was addressed (a splinter from the cross of Christ is undoubtedly fake). Unlike the first book, the mystery had me guessing, and I had no idea who the killer was. There was a gay couple in this book, only one of which is effeminite, so Tremayne is making progress. They do die rather horribly, but baby steps. It occurred to me that Tremayne is trying to show that gay people existed in antiquity and the middle ages, to counteract the idea that no gay people existed before Oscar Wilde, with Sappho being an outlier. He does it in such a hamfisted way that it makes me chuckle to think it's him being a historically accurate(?) ally, but anyway. 

The other book, The Subtle Serpent, is actually the fourth Sister Fidelma book, so I need to find the third somehow. Despite this, I didn't really feel like I was missing any information. I initially thought it was the third SF book, because at the end of SftAb, Fidelma gives Eadulf a book before they both set off on their respective journeys, and then she finds the book she gave him on a mysteriously abandoned ship. Here's the Amazon summary:

In the year 666 A.D., a headless female corpse is found in the drinking well of a remote abbey in southwest Ireland: clasped in one hand is a crucifix; tied to the other arm is a pagan death symbol. Sister Fidelma--sister to the king of Muman, a religieuse, and an advocate of the Brehon law courts--is sent to investigate. En route, she encounters a Gaulish merchant ship under full sail off the Irish coast--one whose crew and cargo have vanished without a trace.
Faced with a tense local situation, Fidelma must discover first the identity of the body in the well and uncover who was responsible, then find out what happened to the missing crew of the adrift merchant ship, and, finally, determine how these bizarre events are connected. For these events are more than simply disturbing--the peace of the entire kingdom rests upon their solution.

This one was a fun ride, although there were enough bumps to make me uncomfortable. For starters, the abbey is run by a bitchy, pompous abbess who surrounds herself with young nuns specifically so that no one will question her authority, and she makes it as difficult as possible for Fidelma, messing with her investigation at every turn. The one disabled person in the abbey is treated with contempt, and actually hides her intelligence by affecting a stutter and reading the library's books at night. She's accused of the second murder, and the abbess whips up a frenzy in the abbey, and if it's not for Fidelma, she would have been killed. The abbess's ex-husband is the local governor's (who is also the abbess's brother) personal priest (clergy can marry in the Celtic church), feeds everyone lies, and spreads rumors that the abbess is a lesbian and is in an incestuous relationship with their own daughter. All this with a pagan idol conspiracy, Fidelma almost getting shot in the woods, and even more of that ferked up family dynamic, plus lots of secrets and political intrigue. Also, Fidelma is worried about Brother Eadulf's disappearance. It all comes together in the end.

These two books were better than the first one, for sure. I didn't figure out the killers, and the twists had me going back and forth. There were way fewer references to Fidelma's appearance, with only one mention in the beginning of the book of how "rebellious red strands of hair snaked out from her headdress", which is basically verbatim from the first book. Like, why do we have to know that. Also, people grimaced way too much in these books. People only grimace when they're in pain or thinking about something gross, not to signify agreement or greet people, ffs. Remember how I said it was stupid that Fidelma was a grown woman who had no idea what attraction or a crush felt like? Well, it turns out Fidelma had a boyfriend who dumped her or died or w/e, so it's EVEN STUPIDER. Being bitter over a failed relationship doesn't mean one forgets what butterflies in the stomach mean. Ridiculous.

Score: 3.8 and 3.9 out of 5 stars
Read in: beginning of August
From: the thrift store
Format: paperback
Status: giving away