Reviews

Peters does such a masterful job of weaving in seemingly unconnected character moments, strange happenings, and random observations into a truly satisfyingly complex whodunit. As always, there's an array of intriguing and charming characters in this Cadfael offering, and the moment of revelation when all is made clear is certainly worth the effort/time spent traversing the circuitous routes of the mystery. A+ work as always.

readingelli's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

4.0

Content Warnings

cleheny's review against another edition

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3.0

The strength of this Cadfael mystery is the dynamics of the Aspley family. Meriet is the usual misunderstood young man (well, misunderstood by almost everyone but Cadfael, of course). His motivation is not an unusual one in a Peters' romantic hero, but how it works out makes the story more interesting. It's unfortunate that the mystery ends when it does, as I think the aftermath would have been fascinating to read. Furthermore, the culprit's fate is an unusual one by Peters' standards.

Unfortunately, the climax is dependent on a fortuitous chance , which is weird because Hugh and Cadfael engineer at least certain aspects of it and are clearly hoping that all will be revealed. But it's unclear how their original plan would have resulted in the truth coming out, if not for the happy circumstance that solves the mystery and puts everything as right as it can be.

gifflesnooks's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

readingwithcats's review against another edition

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hopeful 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

4.5

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