Peter Tremayne: The Monk who Vanished (USA 2002)

From the Publisher:
WITHOUT A TRACE
On a night in September of A.D. 666, an aged monk and a set of priceless holy relics disappear from the Abbey of Imleach. The missing artifacts belonged to St. Ailbe, who brought Christianity to the Irish kingdom of Muman in the fifth century and founded the abbey.

The King of Muman asks Sister Fidelma, an advocate of the Brehon law courts, to investigate. Even with help from Brother Eadulf, Fidelma finds her efforts hindered by a dangerous and unknown faction determined to keep both the monk and the relics permanently lost.

PRAISE FOR VALLEY OF THE SHADOW
"[Sister Fidelma] does not disappoint... untangling a complex web of intrigue that moves from one surprising revelation to the next." -- Publishers Weekly

"Tremayne's discriminating sense of history... creates an equally complex mystery for history-mad readers with eyes as sharp as Fidelma's." -- Kirkus Reviews

Peter Tremayne: The Monk who Vanished. A Mystery of Ancient Ireland. Signet, ISBN: 0451206266 (September, 2002), 317 p., $6.50.

Peter Tremayne: The Monk who Vanished (UK 1999)

From the Publisher:
'The Sister Fidelma stories take us into a world that only an author steeped in Celtic history could recreate so vividly' -- Peter Haining
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 and baptised him at Cashel in AD 448.

But now, calamity has struck the community of the abbey. Not only has an elderly monk suddenly disappeared, but the holy relics of St Ailbe have also vanished. These sacred relics are not just the concern of the abbey's community but are a priceless icon and political symbol of the entire kingdom. So who would have dared to take them?

Sister Fidelma, together with Saxon Brother Eadulf, 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...

Peter Tremayne's six previous Sister Fidelma mysteries are also available from Headline (see inside for details):

'Definitely an Ellis Peters competitor... the background detail is marvellous' -- Evening Standard
'A brilliant and beguiling heroine. Immensely appealing... difficult to put down...' -- Publishers Weekly

Peter Tremayne: The Monk who Vanished. A Celtic Mystery. Headline, ISBN: 0747257817 (August, 1999), 364 p., £5.99.