Reviews

This book have with two other books of this series been sitting on my shelf for years. I thought it was the first three books but turns out it was 1, 4 and 9. Anywho I enjoyed this cozy mystery set in medieval times a lot, the characters are great, with a lot of interesting characteristics to go a long with them and the mystery is compelling and interesting to follow. Hope I can find more books of this series in second hand soon!

rebeccabadger's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

anna_hepworth's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This is a perfectly fine historical murder mystery, which I found both easy to put down (and forget about), and easy to pick up (and remember what was going on). I do like that our 'detective', Brother Cadfael isn't the only one doing the investigations, nor the only one working things out -- it is very much an ensemble in this one.

Content Warnings

git_r_read's review against another edition

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4.0

Good. I always enjoy my time with Brother Cadfael. It makes me want to grow more herbs and flowers with medicinal and other practical uses.

thecesspit's review against another edition

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4.0

Medieval crime fiction. No real twists or shocks, but the point of Brother Cadfael stories is to take the idea of a monk in the 14th Century and write a decent detective knowledge. It's comfort reading, with a nice tale that goes along at a steady pace, with plenty of period details (or so I imagine, not being an expert of medieval Benedictine monasteries) and believable characters who react in ways you can understand.

In this one, the Abbey's yearly money spinning trade fair is beset by murder (of course) and Cadfael gets involved trying to find the culprit. You have a good array of suspects, with the obviously innocent first arrest to the final denouement, where Ellis Peters adds a little romance in to sweeten the final brew for those who need neat ends and happily ever afters.

eososray's review against another edition

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4.0

The ramifications of the political drama of the times are played out at St. Peter's Fair when Cadfael tries to determine why a merchant was murdered.

lisajh5858's review

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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