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The Burren Mysteries
With her superb attention to detail, Cora Harrison
brings medieval Ireland into vivid life, being equally skilful at
portraying the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Mara is up there with the great fictional
detectives.
- Historical Novel Society,
Editors' Choice Titles for August 2009
Ellis Peters and Peter Tremayne fans who have yet to discover Harrison will be overjoyed.
- Publishers Weekly starred review
Outstanding both for its attention to detail and historical
correctness. Historical mystery fans won’t want to miss this
one. - Library journal
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The
Burren on the western seaboard of Ireland was then, in the year of
1509, as it is now, a land of stony fields and swirling mountain
terraces...
"This richly conceived and authentically detailed series of
historical whodunits..." - Booklist
"...
well-drawn characters, a tantalizing mystery and an intriguing
look at the surprisingly complex and liberal laws of 1509
Ireland." - Kirkus reviews
"Mara is
wonderfully depicted... The historical and geographic setting is
so well written you feel a part of the time." - New
Mystery Magazine
"You’ll enjoy this mystery and learn much about our Irish
heritage." - Irish
American News
"Outstanding" - Publishers Weekly
"a wonderfully appealing character ...an alluring perception of
Ireland – [Cora Harrison is] exceptionally talented at
crafting an intriguing whodunit." - The Truth About Books.com
"Enchanting historical
mystery" - Baltimore Sun, USA
 "This
is a terrific read" - American
Booksellers Association
"Enthralling
murder mystery with a strong historical basis" - Editors' Choice, Historical Novel Society
"This
is a terrific debut of a historical series that promises
something completely different" -
Globe and Mail review, Canada
"She's
on to a winner"
- Evening Herald, Ireland
"The setting, plot and
characters are beautifully crafted" -
Kingston Observer,
Massachusetts, USA
"I relished reading the Sister Fidelma
Mysteries, written by Peter Tremayne. But I believe My
Lady Judge is a more intriguing and better written book.
Tremayne says: “Sister Fidelma would be delighted with her
sleuthing ‘descendant.’” -
Irish American News
Cora Harrison writes
See all reviews...
Order 'My Lady Judge' from Pan Macmillan
(opens in new window)
 Published by Pan Macmillan, May 2008
"Once again, Cora Harrison brings 16th century Ireland
beautifully to life and her Brehon detective, Mara, is a
fantastic protagonist – an absolute one-off and yet refreshingly
real." - Historical Novel Society,
Editors' choice titles
The USA cover of the second Burren Mystery, published as "A Secret and Unlawful Killing" in the USA.
"You’ll enjoy
this mystery and learn much about our Irish heritage." -
Irish American News
"Harrison's captivating second mystery... makes for compelling
reading." - Publishers Weekly (PW, USA)
Read more reviews of Michaelmas
Tribute ('A Secret and Unlawful Killing' in
the USA)
In its Editors' Choice
Titles for August 2009, the Historical Novel Society wrote:
"With her superb attention to detail, Cora Harrison
brings medieval Ireland into vivid life, being equally skilful at
portraying the good, the bad, and the ugly.
"Her research appears impeccable and is always
included using a lightness of touch.
"Mara is up there with the great fictional
detectives.
"Her formidable intellect is beautifully balanced by
her humanity and ability to empathise even with those she
dislikes.
"She is a creation to be proud of and one assured a long stay
on my bookshelves."
- Historical Novel Society,
Editors' Choice Titles for August 2009
Other reviews:
Ellis Peters and Peter Tremayne fans who have yet to discover Harrison will be overjoyed.
- Publishers Weekly starred review
A more clear-headed, sound Judge you couldn’t wish
for and a wonderfully appealing character.
[Cora Harrison] has
created a memorable cast and an alluring perception of Ireland –
and she is also exceptionally talented at crafting a intriguing
whodunit. - The Truth About Books.com
Mara is simply a fabulous protagonist
-
The Bookbag
A whodunit with a proper mystery to unravel
- MyShelf.Com
Agatha Christie in 16th century
Ireland - MyShelf.Com
Fans of Peter Tremayne’s Sister Fidelma Ancient Irish
mysteries will want to read this terrific medieval whodunit...
this series is one of the sub-genre’s best - Genre Go Round
Reviews
Read full reviews
"Christmas, 1510; the Burren, West coast of Ireland.
Mara, Brehon (investigating judge) of the Burren, has accepted the offer
of marriage made by King Turlough Donn O'Brien, ruler of that tiny
kingdom of stony land and terraced mountains on the shores of the
Atlantic Ocean.
The marriage is planned to take place at the Cistercian Abbey on
Christmas Day. But, on the eve of the marriage festivities, a man
kneeling in prayer beside the tomb of an ancestor in the abbey
church is violently battered to death...
"A very clever whodunit, set in a landscape which is beautifully
evoked... My heart was literally in my mouth... Cora Harrison has
once more excelled" - The Bookbag
"Outstanding... artfully combining an insightful and sympathetic
detective with a fair-play puzzle..." - Publishers weekly
"The
fact that the story takes place in Christmas time makes this book
very suitable as a Christmas gift, either to yourself or to
someone else!" - I Love Galway
 Cora Harrison's fifth Burren mystery, Eye of the Law
"Outstanding both for its attention to detail and historical
correctness. Historical mystery fans won’t want to miss this
one." - Library journal
"Set in 1510,
Harrison’s excellent fifth Irish historical (after 2009’s
Writ in Stone) finds series heroine Mara, the brehon
of the kingdom of the Burren who serves both as an
investigating magistrate and law school professor, married to
King Turlough Donn and expecting his child." -
Publishers Weekly
Reviews
Scales of Retribution
The sixth Burren mystery
Publishers' Weekly writes:
"Few will anticipate the solution.
"Harrison combines meticulous period detail with a crafty puzzle
and a sage, empathetic sleuth."
Deed of Murder
The Seventh Burren Mystery
"an electrifying climax and a surprising solution to the
crimes" - Historical Novel Society
April 1511, Ireland. Mara, Brehon of the Burren, is
celebrating the christening of her son when she notices that three
of her law students have disappeared from the party.
The next morning, one of them is found dead on a lone mountain
pass with suspicious wounds. He was carrying an important legal
document that has now disappeared. But why did he choose to
deliver it during the night, and what of the two other missing
students? Mara must uncover the truth – and it at first seems that
the stolen deed holds all the
answers...
"As usual, Harrison makes combining a whodunit with the
subtleties of Irish law look easy." -
Publishers weekly
Cora Harrison's eighth Burren mystery, Laws in Conflict
“Harrison, like Peter
Tremayne in his Sister Fidelma series, provides a superior brand
of historical mystery” Booklist
February, 1512. Mara,
Brehon of the Burren, judge and lawgiver, has been invited to the
magnificent city state of Galway, which is ruled by English laws
and a royal charter originally granted by Richard III.
Mara wonders whether she
can use her legal knowledge to save the life of a man from the
Burren who has been caught stealing a meat pie, but events soon
take an even more dramatic turn when the mayor’s son is charged
with a heinous crime. Sure there is more to the case than meets
the eye, Mara investigates..."Harrison adroitly
introduces her impressive knowledge of the period into a
suspenseful plot that also involves murder." - Publishers
weekly "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." - Library
Journal
Cora Harrison's ninth Burren mystery, Chain of Evidence
It had been an early spring in the west of Ireland. In the
kingdom of the Burren, mild south-westerly winds from the nearby
Atlantic Ocean had put a temporary end to winter frosts by the
middle of January. By the second day of February the sunken lanes
in its valleys had been filled with pale yellow primroses and dark
purple violets. Soon afterwards the willow had begun to quicken
and burst forth into fluffy buds, the pink haze of the tiny herb
robert spread over the ditches and the grass of the fields was
sprinkled with cowslips. An early spring, said the optimists who
began making plans for moving their cows to summer pasture. But
by the thirty-first day of March, just as soon as the bare thorny
twigs of hedgerows had become covered with white blossoms, the
traditional saying ‘the little winter of the blackthorn’ had come
true and the air turned icy...
Read Chapter One
Artwork from 'My Lady Judge', 'Michaelmas Tribute'
and 'Sting of Justice' copyright Pan Macmillan
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 By
the mid-western Atlantic seaboard is one of the most magical
places in Ireland.
It is called The Burren and geologists, botanists, nature
lovers, mountain climbers and cave explorers come from all over
the world to see this place.
Cora Harrison's next novel: 'My
Lady Judge', which will be published by Pan-Macmillan in
early 2007 for an adult audience, is inspired by:
 the
wonderful bare limestone pavements and the tiny rare wild flowers
that flourish in the cracks of those pavements;
 the
spiralling terraced mountains; the remains of tombs and forts and
tower houses, ruined churches, slender round towers;
 and
above all by the ancient walls of Cahermacnaghten law school
(pictured left) where, right up to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I,
the Brehon laws were taught and were used to keep the peace in the
community which had lived on the Burren for thousands of years..
Click here to see the photo
album
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