Description:
Wonderfully preposterous as whodunits go, Cadfael proves that sleuthing for clues in 12th-century England can be hazardous to a "mere" monk's health. In this 1994 episode, Brother Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) becomes entangled in a murder investigation. A wealthy landowner disinherits his stepson (played by then-unknown Jonny Lee Miller) and wills his estate to Shrewsbury Abbey, home of Cadfael's clerical order. But the brutal old fellow is soon poisoned, and Cadfael is alone in doubting the boy's culpability. The case becomes more urgent after the incorrigible monk discovers the suspect's mother is a sweetheart he left behind after joining the Crusades 40 years earlier. Complicating matters is growing corruption at the abbey following news of the deceased man's benevolence. As usual, Cadfael's fearlessness at pursuing truth in the face of powerful interests, along with Jacobi's knowing performance, is the most compelling element of this medieval thriller. --Tom Keogh
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