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moon110581's review against another edition
4.0
This book started off slow but interesting, and revealed itself to be wonderfully thoughtful and well-crafted. People turned out to be different than they seemed to be, plans turned out to go differently than expected, and everything flowed naturally and didn't feel contrived. There's a duel in the book to settle a legal matter like in the movie The Last Duel, the idea being that God will protect the innocent party. There's romance and politics. Cadfael plays a trick on someone trying to play a trick on him. This book turned out to be a fantastic read and I look forward to more of these.
sonyaw's review against another edition
4.0
Listen, I make no bones about embracing my inner 87-year old, who loves cosy mysteries. The series follows the sleuthing adventures of Brother Cadfael, a Benedictine monk in 12th-century Shrewsbury.
The stories are well written and not too challenging -- exactly what I'm looking for in a cosy, and none of the casual racism you might be as surprised to find in Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle as I was!
The stories are well written and not too challenging -- exactly what I'm looking for in a cosy, and none of the casual racism you might be as surprised to find in Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle as I was!
shittyjoanofarc's review against another edition
Wonderful characters, clever little story, delicious little book
debdatta's review against another edition
4.0
I have wanted to read Ellis Peters for a while and thanks to Blossoms Book House, I got my hands on a couple books from ‘Chronicles of Brother Cadfael’ series.
The war between King Stephen and Empress Maud had brought Shrewsbury to a standstill because of a siege. When King Stephen managed to take over the castle, he had his opposition hung till death. Brother Cadfael, with the permission of the King, brings the bodies of the dead in order to give them a proper burial. But there’s an extra corpse whose cause of death seems to be something other than the noose. Brother Cadfael takes it on himself to find out the fallen man’s identity and exact justice for him.
Brother Cadfael’s knack for observation is shown to the readers early on as is his sense of duty and justice. It doesn’t hurt that the author has also provided us with some hints to his past which makes him seem like a completely different person that he is now. As such, I found it pretty easy to like our protagonist. With his newfound apprentice in stow, Brother Cadfael does all he can to help those who are in need and find justice for a fallen innocent. Godric was an interesting character whose presence in the book added a lot more to the plot and provided some interesting twists. I have to say, even though it is a bit of a spoiler, I ended up liking Hugh Beringar quite a bit. He made an interesting opponent at first and then an even more interesting ally to have.
The author has managed to create a world set in early 12th century England come alive through the pages. It was interesting to see how the brothers of the Abbey managed to keep themselves separate from the war between King Stephen and Empress Maud. They welcomed anyone who needed the help and opened their gates to one and all. The language used by the author suited the setting. I had trouble understanding a few dialogues in the first few chapters and had to reread the portion to understand. But I got into the flow quick enough and ended up enjoying both the language and the dialogue delivery.
A simple case of whodunit that seasoned mystery buffs will be able to catch on to, yet have a good time reading all about it.
The war between King Stephen and Empress Maud had brought Shrewsbury to a standstill because of a siege. When King Stephen managed to take over the castle, he had his opposition hung till death. Brother Cadfael, with the permission of the King, brings the bodies of the dead in order to give them a proper burial. But there’s an extra corpse whose cause of death seems to be something other than the noose. Brother Cadfael takes it on himself to find out the fallen man’s identity and exact justice for him.
Brother Cadfael’s knack for observation is shown to the readers early on as is his sense of duty and justice. It doesn’t hurt that the author has also provided us with some hints to his past which makes him seem like a completely different person that he is now. As such, I found it pretty easy to like our protagonist. With his newfound apprentice in stow, Brother Cadfael does all he can to help those who are in need and find justice for a fallen innocent. Godric was an interesting character whose presence in the book added a lot more to the plot and provided some interesting twists. I have to say, even though it is a bit of a spoiler, I ended up liking Hugh Beringar quite a bit. He made an interesting opponent at first and then an even more interesting ally to have.
The author has managed to create a world set in early 12th century England come alive through the pages. It was interesting to see how the brothers of the Abbey managed to keep themselves separate from the war between King Stephen and Empress Maud. They welcomed anyone who needed the help and opened their gates to one and all. The language used by the author suited the setting. I had trouble understanding a few dialogues in the first few chapters and had to reread the portion to understand. But I got into the flow quick enough and ended up enjoying both the language and the dialogue delivery.
A simple case of whodunit that seasoned mystery buffs will be able to catch on to, yet have a good time reading all about it.
ladyrosiereads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
zeroiv's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
rachaelinpa's review against another edition
4.0
I love these books, Brother Cadfael is like an old friend, who wouldn't love to know him???
rebcamuse's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I might go back to the audiobook format for the series, but I did enjoy this read. The characters are great, including the foe who becomes a friend. The political aspects between Stephen and Maud are left a bit blurry, with King Stephen getting more airtime, but the introduction of Godric near the beginning makes for a fun ride. This is definitely character-driven, although I found Cadfael's manipulation a bit tedious at times. Aline Siward is hard to picture in my mind, and I found it difficult to sympathize with her character, but I did love Godric, Torold Blund, and especially Hugh Beringar, one of the more interesting characters.
noondaypaisley's review against another edition
4.0
This is the one that showed there was going to be a lot more to the series. A love story, a good solid set of confusing things going on, some fun characters and good old clever Brother Cadfael at the centre of it all. A good fight scene to make some Medieval Justice too.