A review by dominic_piacentini
Saint Peter's Fair by Ellis Peters

3.0

This book is a riot. What begins as a municipal grievance over an infrastructure tax develops into a national skirmish between feuding factions of the English Anarchy. Caught up in it — again — is Brother Cadfael, master of Shrewsbury Abbey's herbarium. This time, though, he is granted by the newly installed Abbott the freedom to sleuth the murder of a wealthy merchant during all hours of his typical monastic temporality. After all, "there was no denying that the Benedictine round dutifully observed, did limit a man's mobility for a large part of the day."

I was glad to see Hugh and Aline Baringar return in this installment, and I hope that they maintain a role in the next mysteries. Ellis Peter's steamy, medieval descriptions of men return too. A standout here being, "Emma's arms easily spanned Ivo's slenderness, and the feel of his spare, strong body was warm and muscular and vital through the fine linen." Hot.

If I could give 3.5 stars I would.