The Sting of Justice: A Mystery of Medieval Ireland (Mysteries of Medieval Ireland) Reviews
The Sting of Justice: A Mystery of Medieval Ireland (Mysteries of Medieval Ireland)
“Once again, Cora Harrison brings sixteenth-century Ireland beautifully to life and her Brehon detective, Mara, is a fantastic protagonist—an absolute one-off and yet refreshingly real.” —The Historical Novel Society on A Secret and Unlawful Killing (Editors’ Choice)The year is 1509 and autumn has come to the Burren in western Ireland. It’s a time of harvest and preparation for the winter to come—the end of summer and, for some, the end of life. When Mara attends the funeral of a local priest of the Burren, the last thing she expects to discover is another corpse on the church steps—a man stung to death by bees. Sorley, the silversmith, was a greedy and distrusted man: there would be no shortage of people who wanted him dead
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terrific medieval whodunit,
In the Kingdom of Burren in western Ireland in the year 1509, the land is rich with minerals especially silver washing out of the mountain and free for anyone who sees it. That is until Sorley Skerrett the avaricious silversmith bought the land and opened a silver mine. Over the decades that mine became a festering sore spot on the once pristine mountainside. Now affluent and influential, he is petty and spiteful with many angry enemies who want to spit on his grave.
While sitting in a room in the church he attended, someone crashes a hive through the window to the floor. Allergic to the venom, Sorley dies immediately. Mara the Brehon of the Burren rules it murder and she starts an investigation. She finds many suspects as the victim was universally detested by those he destroyed with his unethical business ventures. Perhaps those who hate him more are those who had the misfortune of being in his personal life like his ex wife. Everyone had the opportunity as Mara finds she has a lot of work ahead to sift through this case.
Although almost a millennia in the past, fans of Peter Tremayne’s Sister Fidelma Ancient Irish mysteries will want to read this terrific medieval whodunit as the legal system has evolved from the seventh century to the sixteenth. Mara is terrific as the only LADY JUDGE in Ireland looking into A SECRET AND UNLAWFUL KILLING again. The support cast is three dimensional as they bring time and place alive. The official inquiry is well done as Mara slowly works her way to the killer. Cora Harrison provides another strong historical murder investigation as this series is one of the sub-genre’s best.
Harriet Klausner
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|A good “who-dunnit” mystery,
First Sentence: There is something evocative about the words: the west of Ireland.
Generally, when attending a funeral, there is only one dead body; that of the person being buried. When Mara, the Brehon, or dispenser of justice, for the Burren in Western Ireland, attends the funeral of a local priest, there is a second body. Sorley Skerrett was an outsider, a silversmith and owner of the local silver mine. He was not a popular figure and several people stood to benefit from his early demise.
One of the things I particularly liked about this book, and the whole series, is the historical information. Brehon law dated back before the time when St. Patrick arrived in Ireland and it is a aspect of history about which I didn’t know prior to finding these books.
That law, in itself, provides a small element of tension as this there is always the concern of Brehon law being taken over by English law. The comparisons of the two forms of law are very interesting.
Ms. Harrison’s other great strength is how evocative are her descriptions. At the very opening, where she is describing the west of Ireland, it is very easy to envision the setting. I enjoy her characters, particularly Mara, her dog Bran, and Brigid. It’s fascinating, again, to see the roles possible to women in that time under Brehon law. I also appreciate the logic of her mind balanced by the kindness of her heart.
The plotting is well done. These are not “action” books by any means, or ones of high suspense. They are interesting, well-written, who-dunnit-mysteries, and the next in series is already on my shelves.
THE STING OF JUSTICE (Hist Mys-Mara, Brehon of the Burren, Ireland-1509) – G+
Harrison, Cora – 3rd in series
Macmillan, 2009, UK Hardcover – ISBN: 9781405092272
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