I’m not sure how a copy of Peters’ book made in into our library. Maybe it was the picture of Sir Derek Jacobi on the front. (Man, what an actor!) But I do dabble in mysteries from time to time and was happy enough to read this slim volume.

It is the time of the civil war between opposing forces for the throne of England during the twelfth century. And Shrewsbury, where the novels are set, seem to be a nexus for the conflict. While tending to those who were executed for being on the wrong side of a particular battle, Cadfael the monk discovers that there are ninety-five corpses waiting to be blessed and buried, rather than ninety-four. He decides to investigate the death of the unaccounted body, certain the young man was killed by foul means.

There’s something about the language used in these historical novels that appeals to me. Cotte, hose, trencher, tincture, cordial … the syllables themselves evoke a particular atmosphere that’s half the fun of reading a novel such as this. Cadfael is as secular as a monk can be without being a civilian. Ex-crusader, ex-sailor, sexually knowledgeable, open-minded, tolerant, he protects Godrick, a youth in his charge, Tolund, the dashing Saxon sympathiser of Empress Maud, and skips prayer times as appropriate, all without much of a qualm. It’s also obvious that Cadfael has a lot of respect for women and I appreciated how the female characters were cast in this novel.

The one thorn in the novel for me was the “pricking of the thumbs” phrase which, I felt, turned up too many times. Already, the first time I encountered it, I was thrown into Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes (and none of that is Peters’ fault, I hasten to add), but the repetition of the phrase compounded that flip.

Having said all that, my last thought was that all the good bits together–the evocative language, atmosphere, portrayal of women–was not really enough to have me actively seek out any Brother Cadfael mystery (although I wouldn’t say no to one if it dropped in my lap) until I discovered that my favourite character, Hugh of Beringar, becomes a regular after One Corpse Too Many, the second Cadfael book.

Well, that changes everything! Hugh is bested in this book, but his good humour and sardonic wit overcomes his obvious sense of ambition, and he quickly became one of my favourites. Knowing that he’s in other books as well gives me the motivation to move Peters’ name a little further up the list of authors I look for when I walk into the bookstore.

Summary: a good book to read when you’re already feeling relaxed. I might try searching out the videos as well. I do like Jacobi!