I'm not a huge fan of mystery and crime novels, though I enjoy the occasional Agatha Christie. Nor am I really a fan of mediaeval history. However I do find myself, now and again, picking up one of the delightful Cadfael novels by Ellis Peters (pseudonym for Edith Pargeter) and becoming engrossed.
'A rare Benedictine' features three medium-length stories featuring Brother Cadfael. He is a fictional mediaeval Welsh monk with remarkably good observation skills, who solves a lot of mysteries.
The first story features his call to the monastery, returning to England after fighting in the Crusades. So it's set chronologically before all the other novels about him. There's nothing overtly religious in the story, despite Cadfael receiving his call to monastic life. In his gentle way he ensures that justice is done and problems solved, even at the start of his ministry.
The second story is about a wealthy man of sixty who decides to give some very expensive silver candlesticks to the Abbey as a form of penance. Then the candlesticks vanish. Cadfael quietly spots the person who took them, and ensures that the right thing happens. Motive is much more important to him than legalism, and I found myself entirely agreeing with him.
The third story is about Brother William, who collects the rents, and is attacked one day. There's lots of interesting observation in this story, which include characters such as William's rebellious son, a closed-faced new monk, and a young and enthusiastic clerk. Cadfael himself is shown as a soothing, healing person, who knows instinctively who to trust and who is a likely villain.
Well-written, interesting, and clever plots. Recommended, even if you don't think this genre would appeal to you.
I've seen books by Ellis Peters (pen name for Edith Pargeter) on many shelves for some years, but somehow have never been tempted to read them before now. I quite like the light crime genre, and the twist of having a mediaeval monk as the crime-solver sounded intriguing... but still, I never quite found myself taking the plunge.
We even started collecting a few of Ellis Peters' books ourselves, as one of my teenage sons likes them. He persuaded me to try one and to read it aloud to him and his brother, as I couldn't think of anything else. So I agreed.
'The sanctuary sparrow' is actually the seventh in the Brother Cadfael series, but they all stand alone so it didn't matter that I hadn't read any of the others.
The book opens as Liliwin, a juggler, claims sanctuary at the monastery. He has been accused of robbing someone at a wedding, and has been running away from a mob who want his life.
Brother Cadfael does not believe that Liliwin is guilty. So he does some low-key investigating in a fairly thorough way, before finally uncovering the truth. There's also a mild love interest, with a servant girl who is keen on Liliwin.
I thought it was a very well-told story, with sufficient clues to enable the reader to guess who the guilty person was, eventually, but without it being obvious too early in the book.
All in all, I enjoyed it. The ending is certainly satisfying, and it made a good novel to read aloud. I won't be rushing to read others in the series, but will probably pick up others at odd moments in the future.
The Brother Cadfael series are often seen in second-hand stores or charity shops, but this one is still in print in paperback in the UK if you want a new edition.
