Published by Severn
House, 2013.
ISBN: 978-0-7278-8245-5
Harrison’s series
about Brehon Mara in 16th century Ireland has reached its ninth
volume with this book. I really enjoy them and like to see returning characters
but I think it would be enjoyable even if you had not read the previous books.
The story is complete in each book.
Mara is a Brehon
(lawyer and judge) in her community in the Burren and she trains future lawyers
in her school. The knowledge that Cora Harrison has of the period in Ireland is
encyclopaedic and she makes the landscape and attitudes very visible for the
reader. Her characters are memorable and include all ages. In this book Mara
considers the death of a clan leader which may be accidental or could be murder
- he was apparently trampled to death by a herd of cows. Mara’s investigation
is carried out against considerable odds as the body has been moved and
stripped before she sees it and there are various individuals who put obstacles
in her way. She pursues her usual method of discussing all possibilities with
her scholars so that they can learn to apply their theoretical knowledge to a
real situation. The differences between these laws and the rougher ones of
their counterparts in the rest of Europe is
marked. The presence of Englishman Stephen Gardiner in this book reminds us of
the danger to old Irish ways from the English under King Henry VIII. Despite
the obstacles Mara successfully discovers what has happened, partly by applying
the law and partly by using her knowledge of human nature.
-------------------------
Jennifer. S.
Palmer
As stated above
there are eight previous 16th century Burren mysteries - the first
one is My Lady Judge. Cora Harrison also writes the London Murder
Mysteries for children and has published other children’s books.
Cora Harrison
was born in Cobh, County Cork, Ireland, but lived in Cork city for most of her life until she was
twenty-one. While her children were growing up, she became a primary school
teacher and loved teaching. Although she enjoyed teaching she enjoys writing
stories even more. It still gives her a thrill to see her books in the shops!
http://www.coraharrison.com/
Jennifer Palmer Throughout my reading life crime
fiction has been a constant interest; I really enjoyed my 15 years as an
expatriate in the Far East, the Netherlands
& the USA
but occasionally the solace of closing my door to the outside world and sitting
reading was highly therapeutic. I now lecture to adults on historical topics
including Famous Historical Mysteries.
No comments:
Post a Comment