An Ingenious Murder Mystery!

When a priceless Caravaggio mysteriously disappears from a convent in rural Ireland, home to a silent-order of nuns, it seems like the last straw for the little community.

With no witnesses and no CCTV footage, the masterpiece is feared lost forever and the nuns, who depend on ticket sales to curious tourists, will have to sell up and leave.

But the indomitable Sister Alice, who heard strange sounds on the night of the theft, persuades Sister Superior to allow her investigate. With the help of the abbey’s computer-savvy librarian, Sister Mary Magdalene, the two nuns swap their habits for short skirts and high heels and set out into the criminal underworld to track down the painting.

As the list of possible suspects – and the body count – rises, the sisterhood sleuths, Alice and Maggie, realize that the nearer they get to the Caravaggio, the more their lives are at risk.

A classic whodunnit, led by Maeve Binchy, one of the world’s favorite authors!

A Clever Mystery!

Entertaining with a good dose of humour – what’s not to like?

The one thing the Abbey has going for it is the Caravaggio painting hanging in the building; interest in it brings flocks of visitors providing a much needed income for the nuns. So, when it is stolen it spells disaster for the future of the order. Sister Alice, a relative newcomer to the abbey, manages to persuade Sister Superior to allow her to investigate and, along with the tech-savvy Sister Mary Magdalene, she finds herself ditching the habit and venturing forth in short skirts and high heels!

Having been a long time fan of everything Maeve Binchy had written, I couldn’t resist adding this one to my list when I spotted it. There are several twists and turns and a sprinkling of humour throughout – many a giggle was had. But behind it all is a very cleverly crafted mystery and one I enjoyed immensely. Definitely one I’m very happy to recommend to all mystery lovers – you won’t be disappointed. For me, 4*.

I purchased this in ebook form; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.

Tags: murder mystery

• Format: ebook, paperback
• Size: 189 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Wall Publishing
• Publication Date: 13 September 2014
• Book Links:
• https://www.goodreads.com
• https://www.foyles.co.uk
• https://www.waterstones.com
• https://wordery.com
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sister-Caravaggio-Maeve-Binchy-ebook/dp/B00NC8J4YA

Authors Details

Maeve Binchy was born in County Dublin and educated at the Holy Child convent in Killiney and at University College, Dublin. After a spell as a teacher she joined the IRISH TIMES. Her first novel, LIGHT A PENNY CANDLE, was published in 1982 and she went on to write over twenty books, all of them bestsellers. Several have been adapted for cinema and television, including TARA ROAD. Maeve Binchy received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Book Awards in 1999 and the Irish PEN/A.T. Cross award in 2007. In 2010 she was presented with the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bord Gáis Irish Book Awards by the President of Ireland. She was married to the writer and broadcaster Gordon Snell for 35 years, and died in 2012.

Peter Cunningham is an Irish novelist. He grew up in Waterford. His first novel,’Noble Lord’, was a thriller, written under the pseudonym, Peter Lauder.

In 2003, ‘The Taoiseach’, dealt with current Irish political events, based on the life of Irish premier Charles Haughey. The novel was a bestseller and is currently in development as a 6-part mini-series for television.

In 2010, a satirical novel dealing with the collapse of Ireland’s economy, ‘Capital Sins’, was published.

His novel, ‘The Sea and the Silence’ was awarded the Prix de l’Europe in 2013.

‘The Trout’, published in 2016, was described by the New York Times as a novel written ‘with a deftness and grace that summon the truth from the depths of the past.’

In 2017, ‘Acts of Allegiance’ was awarded a starred review from Publishers Weekly and described as ‘remarkable’. The novel has been nominated for the Dublin Literary International Award 2019.

Cunningham novels are said to fuse political material with psychological realism and a nascent, lyrical sensitivity to place. in this way he has won an international reputation as a writer of highly crafted plots and enigmatic dreaminess.

Peter Cunningham is a member of Aosdána, the Irish academy of arts and letters, and lives in County Kildare, Ireland.

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