12th-century Shrewsbury monks go to Wales to recover a 7th-century saint’s relics, and meet opposition from the relics’ keepers. Then the opposition leader is murdered.
A pleasant medieval story, but not much of a murder mystery
4 stars
I may have spent far, far too much time down the old-fashioned murder mystery rabbit hole when my kids were little, absorbing Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Ngaio Marsh, but this didn't really seem to resemble a murder mystery as I'd recognize it. A pleasant enough medieval story, but the murder seemed a bit incidental (and yes, I realize it does sound a bit weird to complain about a story being insufficiently murder-ey, but it feels a bit like a failure of advertising :) ).
Top example of why the murder mystery genre has such staying power
5 stars
Brother Cadfael, once a warrior and adventurer in the Crusades, now spends his time tending his abbey's garden and discreetly dozing off behind his favorite pillar during sermons. But once his prior gets the idea that the abbey needs a saint's relics to burnish its (and his) reputation, and that the bones of a saint could be found in a tiny village in Wales, Cadfael's homeland, he has no choice but to come along as translator. The Benedictine mission to Gwytherin brings confusion and discord, as the villagers love their Saint Winifred and don't wish to send her bones away, and then a local notable is found murdered. Cadfael feels responsible to set things aright.
This is a book where I got to the point where I didn't care how it ended because everything had been so charmingly interesting up til then, and I had complete faith in the author--only …
Brother Cadfael, once a warrior and adventurer in the Crusades, now spends his time tending his abbey's garden and discreetly dozing off behind his favorite pillar during sermons. But once his prior gets the idea that the abbey needs a saint's relics to burnish its (and his) reputation, and that the bones of a saint could be found in a tiny village in Wales, Cadfael's homeland, he has no choice but to come along as translator. The Benedictine mission to Gwytherin brings confusion and discord, as the villagers love their Saint Winifred and don't wish to send her bones away, and then a local notable is found murdered. Cadfael feels responsible to set things aright.
This is a book where I got to the point where I didn't care how it ended because everything had been so charmingly interesting up til then, and I had complete faith in the author--only to be pleasantly surprised at how neatly and cleverly she did wrap it up. And yes, "Ellis Peters" is actually Edith Pargeter. This book, the first in a series of at least 20, was hugely popular, inspired several adaptations including a BBC drama called "Cadfael," and greatly increased tourism to Shrewsbury for a time.
I don't normally read many murder mysteries, but this reminded me why many people do read them and enjoy them. Highly recommend.
