Helpful Score: 1
A twisted puzzle with a chaste love storyline.
Anne Todd O. (forestguardian) reviewed An Excellent Mystery (Brother Cadfael, Bk 11) on + 88 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
#11 of this wonderful Brother Cadfael 12th century Welsh Borderlands series of not necessarily monastic mysteries.
A series I'm working through - this one doesn't center around Brother Cadfael but it still is a good read
Cheryl R. (Spuddie) -
The eleventh Brother Cadfael mystery in which the war between Empress Maud and King Stephen (now a prisoner) heats up and involves the Bishop of Winchester as well. When two bedraggled Benedictine brothers arrive in Shrewsbury seeking a new home with the news that their abbey has been destroyed in the war, sheriff Hugh Berengar takes an interest, being the King's man in that part of the country. The book proceeds along with a mystery involving a young woman--once the betrothed of one of the newly-arrived Benedictines--who set out to join a nunnery 3 years previously but never arrived. A mystery without a dead body! Still, as the title says, it is indeed an excellent mystery, though I did remember the solution as I've read this book at least once before. Great entry in my favorite historical series of all time!
Michael G. (doctorslime) -
Doesn't center but provides a deeper glimpse into the life and times of 1141. These historical murder mysteries, are wonderful ways to taste the flavor of a time gone into the past. All so far are Well Done, some are gems beyond price, it pays to note and read them in order. While not necessary to do so, the threads that are real historical fact run thru these stories and make more sense, and you understand the sweep of the land better reading them in close order,
I have skipped around a volume or two out of order without ill effect.
I have skipped around a volume or two out of order without ill effect.
Thomas F. (hardtack) -
Not as much a mystery as the title would make you believe. What is enjoyable is how Peters works it all out.
And, unlike the other Cadfael mysteries, while people die, no one is... Well, read it and find out.
And, unlike the other Cadfael mysteries, while people die, no one is... Well, read it and find out.
Stephen K. (havan) reviewed An Excellent Mystery (Brother Cadfael, Bk 11) on + 138 more book reviews
An Excellent Mystery, a phrase taken from the Solemnization of Matrimony from the Book of Common Prayer, is a great name for this episode in the Cadfael saga though there are no actual weddings here to solemnize.
Instead this story deals with a man who becomes betrothed to a much younger girl before departing on crusade. After gaining some fame while on crusade, the man is grievously injured. He breaks the betroathal and joins a Benedictine order as Brother Humilus. His intended bride decides to take the veil as well and journeys under escort to a distant city to do so.
Three years later and the civil war sees the man's abbey destroyed and Humilis, with a mute young brother Fidelis in tow, appears in Shrewsbury. A mystery develops when it's discovered that the man's fiance never made it to her intended abbey.
Again, as with so much of Ellis Peters's Cadfael saga the mystery is secondary to the picture we develop of life in that time. It's a bit like watching as a grandmother assembles a jigsaw puzzle from a box with no cover. While we're uncertain of the final picture, the pieces give their clues and the old woman is confident enough that we have no doubt that we'll see the final picture in the end and meanwhile we're content to appreciate the skill with which she assembles it.
This one was never adapted for television and that's probably a good thing. Suffice it to say, it's worth the time it takes to read the book, and in the company of Cadfael and a cast of regulars that we've grown to love, it's a satisfying and entertaining journey.
Instead this story deals with a man who becomes betrothed to a much younger girl before departing on crusade. After gaining some fame while on crusade, the man is grievously injured. He breaks the betroathal and joins a Benedictine order as Brother Humilus. His intended bride decides to take the veil as well and journeys under escort to a distant city to do so.
Three years later and the civil war sees the man's abbey destroyed and Humilis, with a mute young brother Fidelis in tow, appears in Shrewsbury. A mystery develops when it's discovered that the man's fiance never made it to her intended abbey.
Again, as with so much of Ellis Peters's Cadfael saga the mystery is secondary to the picture we develop of life in that time. It's a bit like watching as a grandmother assembles a jigsaw puzzle from a box with no cover. While we're uncertain of the final picture, the pieces give their clues and the old woman is confident enough that we have no doubt that we'll see the final picture in the end and meanwhile we're content to appreciate the skill with which she assembles it.
This one was never adapted for television and that's probably a good thing. Suffice it to say, it's worth the time it takes to read the book, and in the company of Cadfael and a cast of regulars that we've grown to love, it's a satisfying and entertaining journey.
Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed An Excellent Mystery (Brother Cadfael, Bk 11) on + 1032 more book reviews
It truly is an excellent mystery, but to say why would be a spoiler. Peters drops clues all along the way, and even the most unobservant reader will figure it out by the time it dawns on Brother Cadfael. This is one of my favorites, and I've read it several times.
Carolyn S. (iluvamystery) reviewed An Excellent Mystery (Brother Cadfael, Bk 11) on + 64 more book reviews
I've never met a Brother Cadfael book I didn't love!
"An Excellent Mystery" is truly an excellent mystery.
Cadfael is especially endearing to me, both as an astute detector of truth, but also as a man of God who is full of compassion and love of his fellow-men. He understands that, in this world, justice must be tempered with mercy, and that, in the next world, God will sort it all out.
"An Excellent Mystery" is truly an excellent mystery.
Cadfael is especially endearing to me, both as an astute detector of truth, but also as a man of God who is full of compassion and love of his fellow-men. He understands that, in this world, justice must be tempered with mercy, and that, in the next world, God will sort it all out.
Margaretann B. (mannsb) reviewed An Excellent Mystery (Brother Cadfael, Bk 11) on + 134 more book reviews
I haven't read a Bro. Cadfael book I didn't enjoy. Gives a good peek at life in the 13th century. M'ann
Victoria B. (Victoria) reviewed An Excellent Mystery (Brother Cadfael, Bk 11) on + 175 more book reviews
THE ELEVENTH BROTHER CADFAEL MYSTERY
