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The Haunted Abbot
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Plot Summary of The Haunted Abbot
"

St. Martin's, May 2004, 24.95, 320 pp.
ISBN 0312287620

Sister Fidelma of Cashel, daughter and sister to kings, is in what will become Great Britain with her Saxon husband Brother Eudolf, the emissary to Theodore, the Arch-bishop of Canterbury. After they are through with their business they travel to Aldred's Abbey to meet Brother Botulf who begged for a midnight meeting. Before they reach the abbey, they are caught in a storm and find shelter with “Mad” Mull who warns them that the place they seek is evil.

By the time they reach Aldred's Abbey, Fidelma is sick and Abbot Cild doesn't want a female in residence. He doesn't follow the Celtic Church but is a fanatic about obeying the rules coming out of Rome. Brother Botulf was murdered that morning and when Cild sees the ghost of his dead wife, he locks up Fidelma because he thinks she's a witch. When she is better, Fidelma and Eudolf escape but she must still solve the mystery of the death of Cild's wife and Brother Botulf if she wants to avert a war between two kingdoms.

The two protagonists are married under Irish law for a year and a day, but Fidelma realizes she can never be happy in Eudolf's homeland where women are treated as chattel. She does not have the power to question witnesses or give testimony and must tiptoe around the beliefs of the South Folk if she wants to bring the guilty to justice.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Haunted Abbot
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story: - middle ages
Kind of investigator - amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - religious figure
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - none
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - power
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 2
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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