Scan barcode
A review by cleheny
The Devil's Novice by Ellis Peters
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.
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.