Strangers seek refuge at the abbey as floodwaters rise, a body falls, and a relic vanishes—in this “top drawer” mystery featuring the twelfth-century monk (Chicago Sun-Times) In the chill, rainy autumn of 1144, two groups of visitors seek the hospitality of the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, and Brother Cadfael fears trouble has come in with them. Among the first arrivals is Brother Tutilo, a … arrivals is Brother Tutilo, a young Benedictine with a guileless face and—to Brother Cadfael’s shrewd eyes—a mischievous intelligence. The second group, a ribald French troubadour, his servant, and a girl with the voice of an angel, seems to Brother Cadfael a catalyst for disaster.
All of Cadfael’s fears become manifest as rising floodwaters endanger the abbey’s most sacred relic, the remains of Saint Winifred. When the bones disappear and a dead body is found, Brother Cadfael knows carnal and spiritual intrigues are afoot. Now, in a world that believes in signs and miracles, Brother Cadfael needs his prayers answered—as well as some heavenly guidance to crucial clues—to catch a killer hell-bent on murder.
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Brother Cadfael as usual is solving mysteries while acknowledging a son he never knew he had. Brilliantly evolved character building and interaction. It was hard to put down and I didn’t want it to be over.
Ellis Peters’ Cadfael series is original. Books are short and easy to read and present the period of civil ware between Stephen and Maude realistically. Characters are well drawn and, although some recur from book to book, each volume stands alone. There are 22 in all.
Another crime solved by Brother Cadfael. What a wonderful character and a wonderful series with a protagoniste, deeply religious but with wonderful insights into the ways of the world and the human heart with its propensity for evil and great good. Great portrayals of Medieval England and the strata that peopled it.
Great stuff!
Love the series
Reread this after many years had passed and found it still stands up as a classic.
I would prefer good character development to wonderful characters. Some are not wonderful but evil. I enjoy Mr Peters description of life in the medieval days and makes me glad to be living now.
An excellent story of the medieval monk-detective Cadfael. Good for history buffs or just readers who like historical novels., as well as mystery readers. Set during the reign of King Stephen, not one of the better known English monarchs, with quite a bit of reference to the politics of the era.
Love historical novels and with this story you walk right along with Brother Cadfael and feel like you are living during that time.
Always love Brother Cadfael books.
The Cadfael series has been one of my favorites! Very well written.
I have read all the Cadfael books. Great blend of history and wonderful characters, especially Brother Cadfael.
In the 12th century, the endless civil war between Wales and England is the backdrop against a civil war in the ecclesiastical world of monks and miracles. The plot revolves around saintly relics stolen from Cadfael’s monastery during a flood and the struggle in the clerical pecking order to decide where the relics will reside once they’re recovered. The murder is a long time coming (so the pacing is somewhat slow but reflective of the time and place). The murder hangs on a pretty thin coincidence as does the slow unraveling of whodunit. Throughout, Cadfael deduces from the observable and from his intuition. The fallback on a “miracle” strained my credulity, but Cadfael is nothing if not a man of deep faith. (He has a dark secret that keeps him ever mindful of his human weaknesses). Regretfully, I may choose to watch the TV reruns rather than reading the dozens of other offerings in this series.
The Cadfael books. in general. are just plain fun mystery. You feel as if you are actually back in time.
I enjoy reading Ellis Peters’ “Cadfael” mysteries because of the glimpse it gives me into a world and a time period I can only dream about.
I am not a Catholic, but I have studied a good deal of ancient history (Greek & Roman) & the beginnings of the Reformation, as well as the Meridian of Time. Cadfael gives me a window into what has been a gap in my historical understanding of people and culture (albeit a fictitious one!) after the loss of Christ’s apostles and before Martin Luther.
The only difficulty is, if one reads the novels very quickly in succession, one can get the impression that one is retreading the same story over and over again, with different characters acting out essentially the same plot….
I loved the main character, Cadfael, a Perry Mason monk during the 1100s.
I was hooked on Brother Cadfael from the first time I saw the movie version of one of his books. I now have all the books and DVDs and read/watch them over and over again. Light reading, entertaining intertwined with mystery, well written characters and a good storyline. Give one a try and you’ll be hooked, too!
I have never met an Ellis Peters story I didn’t like. I will reach for his work ahead of most everyone else. Bro. Cadfael is my favorite character in historical fiction.
This particular book, like all of Peters’ offerings had more than enough plot twists, difficult situations and character development to keep me riveted.
Several little mysteries revolve around a murder near Shrewsbury. With heavy rains coming, the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul sends out a call for help to move the holy works to higher grounds. Sub-Prior Herluin and Brother Tutilo, from Ramsey Abbey arrive just in time to help. They were sent by their abbot to collect funds to restore the Ramsey Abbey after Geoffrey de Mandeville dies and his supports flee the Fens. With so many people helping out, it goes unnoticed that St. Winifred’s reliquary is placed on a wagon of lumber bound for Ramsey Abbey.
Sub-Prior Herluin continues on to other towns for charitable funds, while the wagon and a few volunteers, head to Ramsey. The cart is waylaid by rapscallions and St. Winifred is recovered. Brother Cadfael dives into the mystery as to who put St. Winifred on the wagon in the first place. As the case moves along, a murder occurs, skewing everything.
What does Brother Cadfael and Sherriff Hugh Beringar do to catch this holy thief? Read the story to find out.
Wonderful series. Combines two of my favorites, mystery and history
Excellent writing. Seems historically accurate and I KNOW the herb information is accurate.