“Harrison, like Peter Tremayne in his Sister Fidelma series, provides a superior brand of historical mystery” Booklist

When clan leader Garrett MacNamara’s dead body is found on the road after a herd of cows has escaped, it is initially assumed that he tried to prevent the cows escaping and got squashed to a pulp in the ensuing melee. As dictated by the clan’s Brehon law, Mara investigates the accidental death as a matter of routine before pronouncing the new leader. However, when one local claims they saw a chain attached to the mutilated body, which has now disappeared, it seems that maybe the death was not an accident at all.

Mara and her scholars must now investigate a growing list of suspects, made more complicated by the sudden return of Garrett’s popular younger brother Jarlath after years at sea and the appearance of a woman whose son is Garrett’s one and only rightful heir. Was Slaney, Garrett’s wife, threatened by these new arrivals or is she being blamed for his murder to clear the way for a new leader . . .?