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english_lady03's review against another edition
3.0
Another interesting Cadfael story, and one which has the novelty of being completely new to me as it was never adapted for television. There were some interesting details about marriage customs, however I feel that some of the characters and scenarios in this series became a little repetitive after The Leper of St Giles (book 5).
There is a missing boy who happens to be heir to a great estate, a murdered nobleman, a shadowy hermit and a formidable Lady who seems determined to get her way. So there is plenty of family tension, and the almost compulsory love interest for one of the major characters.
Cadfael himself does not actually feature very prominently in this story, it has more to do with other characters, and there wasn't actually a great deal of investigating. That's not necessarily always a problem if the story is character driven, and there are interesting characters. Most of them are, but not all the time.
I enjoyed this book until the end. When , Cadfael's attitudes once again proved to be a little to much on the modern and liberal side, not like a 12th century person at all. Compassionate is one thing, but I call this anachronistic.
There is a missing boy who happens to be heir to a great estate, a murdered nobleman, a shadowy hermit and a formidable Lady who seems determined to get her way. So there is plenty of family tension, and the almost compulsory love interest for one of the major characters.
Cadfael himself does not actually feature very prominently in this story, it has more to do with other characters, and there wasn't actually a great deal of investigating. That's not necessarily always a problem if the story is character driven, and there are interesting characters. Most of them are, but not all the time.
I enjoyed this book until the end. When , Cadfael's attitudes once again proved to be a little to much on the modern and liberal side, not like a 12th century person at all. Compassionate is one thing, but I call this anachronistic.
sandin954's review against another edition
3.0
Another adventure for Brother Cadfael that sticks to the tried and true formula used in previous books and was, as always, very enjoyable. Listened to the audio version which was read by Roe Kendall who was fine though I tend to prefer male narrators when the lead character is male.
rebeccabadger's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
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
chartsh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
git_r_read's review against another edition
3.0
Lost my concentration while listening to this story. I usually love listening to Brother Cadfael books.
eososray's review against another edition
5.0
All the expected components to a Cadfael book are here and make up another great mystery.
naluju's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
siria's review against another edition
lighthearted
3.0
It's a Cadfael book, so you know what to expect from the get-go: the good end happily and the bad unhappily, and our detective monk is an amiable companion in the process of figuring out whodunnit.