Reviews

Brother Cadfael's Penance by Ellis Peters

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rebeccabadger's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

georgieporgiepudding's review

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adventurous informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

Cadfael reviews news from Hugh of Olivier being missing. A strong premise which has slow in the first 100 pages.
We meet Yves again and he is accused of murder, which adds to Cadfael’s responsibility of free g his son and Yves.
Once I read this book for an hour, I couldn’t out it down - exciting and well written characters, it was very enjoyable.

deehaichess's review

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adventurous mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

I have just worked my way through a collection of 5 or 6 Cadfael stories - my first Peters books ever. I have enjoyed every one: they're well written, well paced, characters are fleshed out just enough to be interesting, and the mysteries have been robust and good examinations of the darker things that drive people to do what they do.

Central to all these is Cadfael himself, who is of course highly interesting and engaging as a character (the books wouldn't be very good if he wasn't). So, I feel like I would have gotten far more out of this particular story had I been with him through all previous 19 books instead of just 5 of what someone else deemed was the best. Which isn't even a criticism, but perhaps just some advice for other readers new to Ellis Peters - read them all in order, I reckon.

Content Warnings

readingelli's review

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.75

Content Warnings

alice_horoshev's review

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challenging hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25

eososray's review against another edition

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4.0

I found it a pity that I couldn't give this book a 5 star, especially as it is the last of the full length books of one of my favorite characters.
I thought it lost something in leaving the familiar settings of Shrewsbury and the Welsh borderlands.
Still, it was Cadfael and it was a great conclusion to a fabulous series.