This 12th century mystery series by Ellis Peters take place in a fog of civil war, where the English and Welsh were raiding each other’s borders and supporting one or another claimant to the English throne: Empress Maud or King Stephen. In spite of the ongoing violence, the author suffuses her novels with a deep sense of peace and contentment in the monastic life. A monk from the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul at Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael, the ex-Crusader-turned herbalist is her solver of murders and mysteries of the heart. Ellis weaves a rich tapestry of his daily life on the war-torn Welsh border.
This eleventh novel in a series of 21 mysteries, "An Excellent Mystery," begins in August of 1141. "It had been an unchancy sort of year, overturning the fortunes of kings and empresses not once, but twice, while benignly smiling upon the festivities of the church and the hopeful labours of ordinary men."
Two refugees, Brother Humilis and the mute, young Brother Fidelis arrive from the Abbey of Hyde-Mead, the elder of the two suffering from an old wound received during the Crusade. The ex-Crusader had released his fiancée from their betrothal when he realized that his wound prevented him from fathering children, and had entered into the religious life.
This back-story becomes important when a young soldier who used to be under the command of Brother Humilis seeks him out and asks for permission to marry his ex-fiancée, Julian Cruce. When permission is granted, the soldier, Nicholas Harnage gallops off to her ancestral home, only to learn that she had taken the veil at Wherwell convent.
Off Nicholas gallops to the convent, only to learn that Julian had never arrived there.
Brother Cadfael is entangled in a love story that might also become a murder mystery.
There is an unusual subplot in this eleventh Cadfael mystery involving a sexual predator within the monastery, who attempts to seduce a couple of the young novices.
Once again, the doughty Sister Magdelan (formerly Avice of Thornbury--see "The Leper of St. Giles" and "Dead Man's Ransom"), makes an appearance and helps her friend, Brother Cadfael pull everyone's chestnuts out of the fire. This wasn't exactly a excellent mystery--it was too easy to figure out--but it was enjoyable to read about the further adventures of my favorite fictional Brother and Sister. The only sour note was the sexual predator.
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Top reviews from other countries
angryoldman
I am a fan of Cadfael and therefore Ellis Peters ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 2, 2017
insomniac
An excellent mystery indeed
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2023