A review by bob_muller
The Hermit of Eyton Forest by Ellis Peters

3.0

Parts of this entry in the Cadfael chronicles are very good, but the narrative point of view bounces all over the place because of the requirements of the plot, which depends on a huge revelation at the end for its mystery and suspense. Peters jumps through all kinds of hoops to (unsuccessfully) hide the "mystery" of this revelation to maintain the suspense of the rescue part of the novel. I was left feeling very manipulated in one way and exasperated in another, as it seemed perfectly obvious to me what was going on by three-quarters of the way through the book, so the rest of it just came across as inept writing, something you don't see a lot of in Peters' work. So--not my favorite Cadfael novel.