Laws in Conflict

August 6, 2012
Set in 1512, Harrison’s engaging eighth Irish historical (after 2011’s Deed of Murder) takes judge Mara, Brehon of the Burren, and her law students to the city-state of Galway, “a tiny island of English law, English language, and English dress within the Gaelic land to the north, east, and south of it.” Mara wishes to expose the students to a different legal system and to help an imprisoned countryman accused of stealing a pie. Mara is dismayed to learn that the prisoner is Sheedy O’Connor, whom she’d formally declared insane, and that his accuser is cousin both to the prosecutor and the judge, who also happens to be Galway’s mayor. Operating in a foreign jurisdiction, Mara must draw on all her ingenuity to try to save O’Connor from execution. Harrison adroitly introduces her impressive knowledge of the period into a suspenseful plot that also involves murder. Agent: Peter Buckman, the Ampersand Agency.

September 1, 2012

Initially, Mara, Brehon of the Burren, a judge in her community, just wants to ensure a defense for a mentally ill indigent man from Burren who's imprisoned in Galway. The city is ruled differently than her own region so she must tread lightly. But after she and her students arrive, a night of harmless revelry turns violent, leaving a young man dead and the mayor's son accused of the murder. Mara stands up to the local authorities, using legal reasoning to make her case. Mara and her intrepid students never give up, and this leads to a breathtaking conclusion. VERDICT Harrison's immensely satisfying eighth legal mystery (after Deed of Murder) is imbued with vibrant details but not weighed down by them. With several memorable adolescent characters, both male and female, this historical has notable YA crossover appeal. For fans of Peter Tremayne.

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