The Subtle Serpent — Peter Tremayne

The abbey of The Salmon of the Three Wells is the perfect place for study and contemplation and an unlikely setting for murder. Yet on this tranquil southwest coast of Ireland, a headless female corpse has been unearthed. Now Sister Fidelma has been summoned to the secluded religious community to investigate....

En route to the abbey, Fidelma encounters a Gaulish merchant ship whose cargo and crew have inexplicably disappeared and discovers that her beloved friend Brother Eadulf is among the missing. As she tries to determine if the abandoned ship is connected to the murder at the convent, local tensions and vicious gossip plague the investigation and she must navigate through a maze of sinful secrets to get to the truth....