Item: My Lady Judge
Rating: 4.00
Author: wyvernfriend

by Cora Harrison

In the sixteenth century, as it is now, the Burren, on the western seaboard of Ireland, was a land of grey stone forts, fields of rich green grass and swirling mountain terraces. It was also home to an independent kingdom that lived peacefully by the ancient Brehon laws of their forebears.

On the first eve of May, 1509, hundreds of people from the Burren climbed the gouged out limestone terraces of Mullaghmore Mountain to celebrate the great May Day festival, lighting a bonfire and singing and dancing through the night, then returning through the grey dawn to the safety of their homes.

But one man did not come back down the steeply spiralling path. His body lay exposed to the ravens and wolves on the bare, lonely mountain for two nights . . . and no one spoke of him, or told what they had seen.

And when Mara, a woman appointed by King Turlough Don O'Brien to be judge and lawgiver to the stony kingdom, came to investigate, she was met with a wall of silence . . .

I quite enjoyed this story of murder and the brehon legal system set in the time of Henry VIII. Mara, Brehon of the Burren, runs a legal school on the Burren and makes judgement on lawbreakers, advising the local leader on what's correct.

It's May Eve, Bealtine, people climb Mullaghmore Mountain to celebrate the festival, and return home afterwards. However one of Mara's students doesn't, and when Mara starts investigating she finds a lot of possible reasons for his death.

It's a little too light in places but it's interesting, the Brehon Law quotations at the beginning of chapters is interesting and reminded me of doing it in college (and made me want to break out the course book!).

It's Peter Tremayne light but it's not a bad first, really, adult novel by this author.

My Lady Judge (Burren, #1) (Mysteries of Medieval Ireland, #1) (A Burren Mystery)

by Cora Harrison

Reviewed by wyvernfriend on May 15, 2009

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