Rating: 
Summary: A sublime historical mystery
Review: "St. Peter's Fair" seduces you into an exceptionally credible mileau and engages your empathy with many-faceted characters. Brother Cadfael, a not overly santimonious, 12th century hearbalist/healer, is as curious as the proverbial cat and as earthy as an old shoe. The injustice he takes on has you on his side from day 1. By the time the fair is over, you'll swear you were there yourself!
Rating:
Summary: A sublime historical mystery
Review: "St. Peter's Fair" seduces you into an exceptionally credible mileau and engages your empathy with many-faceted characters. Brother Cadfael, a not overly santimonious, 12th century hearbalist/healer, is as curious as the proverbial cat and as earthy as an old shoe. The injustice he takes on has you on his side from day 1. By the time the fair is over, you'll swear you were there yourself!
Rating:
Summary: Like always, Cadfael is great!
Review: Brother Cadfael is one of my personal heroes, and I love both the books and the Derek Jacobi PBS series. St. Peter's Fair gets off to a bit of a slow start, but once you get into the story it is hard to put down. Brother Cadfael himself is as lovable as always, and there is a great cast of supporting characters, especially Hugh Beringer, Emma, and Philip Corviser. Reading it made me want to go back and live in medieval England!
Rating:
Summary: Like always, Cadfael is great!
Review: Brother Cadfael is one of my personal heroes, and I love both the books and the Derek Jacobi PBS series. St. Peter's Fair gets off to a bit of a slow start, but once you get into the story it is hard to put down. Brother Cadfael himself is as lovable as always, and there is a great cast of supporting characters, especially Hugh Beringer, Emma, and Philip Corviser. Reading it made me want to go back and live in medieval England!
Rating: 
Summary: More mediaeval goings-on to puzzle over
Review: Ellis Peters' fourth Brother Cadfael mystery is set in the summer of 1139, in a Shrewsbury still recovering from the siege of town and castle by the army of King Stephen the previous summer. To speed the rebuilding of its defences, the townsfolk are eager for financial help from the abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which, being located just outside the town, came through the episode of the siege without harm. With the lucrative annual three-day St. Peter's fair fast approaching, the burghers of the town are anxious to secure a share of its profits - normally given over entirely to the abbey. The new abbot, however, is far from anxious to set a dangerous precedent by ceding away the abbey's dues. Thus it is that merchants arriving from distant towns for the fair find themselves suddenly embroiled in a dispute between town and cloister - and embroiled rather too deeply for comfort as the town's youth escalate the situation out of hand. And so it is that Shrewsbury (and therefore Brother Cadfael, of course) suddenly finds itself with the mystery of another murder (and various other nefarious goings-on) to solve. With her characteristic meticulous attention to period detail, Ellis Peters weaves an intricate web of deceit and intrigue into this far from obvious murder mystery. As usual, she balances the political manoeuvrings of the principal parties with the playing out of a separate romantic sub-plot. This serves to keep the reader (and, in this case, Cadfael too) guessing almost up to the very end as to the real drama running through the story and, of course, to the identity of the villain of the piece. Indeed, the reader is well into the nail-biting conclusion to the story before realising fully what has been going on. Peters' writing style ensures that this book is as enjoyable as Brother Cadfael books ever are. Fans of the mediaeval sleuth may be somewhat disappointed to find that he actually has very little to do here beyond collating the pieces of others' findings but this does not really detract from the tale over all. If the Cadfael books are new to you, I would really recommend reading the first two volumes before any others to truly get the most from them. On the other hand, if you are not interested in reading the whole series but simply want an evocative tale of mediaeval England, then you need look no further than this.
Rating:
Summary: TOWN VERSUS ABBEY!
Review: I rarely dare to fault Peters, the master, but I found the pacing odd as we approached the climactic conflagration. Things slowed down to a few pages of detailed description, as the heroine studies her new surroundings--oblivious to the fact that she is now locked in. But all Brother Cadfael mysteries are excellent: look for the Least-Likely Suspect to be your murderer. And as a layperson who likes her men of the cloth to be near saints, I am mollified to see that Cadfael is much less worldly than in the first 3 novels; he drinks and recalls past amours less, yet he still glories in an occasional ride on a fine horse, when a legitimate opportunity presents. And he savors the propspect of godparenthood, since at 59 he is the right age if he had a son. But beware whenever Cadfael or Hugh feels that Shakespearian pricking of the thumbs! Death is just as sudden and final in the 12th century, where murder must be solved without use of sophisticated technology and communication--just a bi-annual challenge for our supersleuth, who solves them all by using his wits, and his knowledge of herbs and human nature.
Rating:
Summary: Brother Cadfael with a chase scene!
Review: Of the chronicles of Brother Cadfael that I have thus far read, "St. Peter's Fair" is the most "mystery-like." No cut and dried solution springs to mind as the plot unfolds. This one had me guessing for some time. All the regular ingredients of the previous stories are here: Political wrangling, personal intrigue, a love story, and of course--a murder. Cadfael once more is a treasure trove of wisdom. Some of his lines here are classic. Cadfael is a very noble, very humane, world-weary protagonist. Ellis Peter has truly created a detective for the ages in him. In "St. Peter's Fair" Cadfael is up against one heck of a baffling case. He and Hugh Berengar (my favorite secondary character) team up to try and solve the murder of a visiting merchant. I have no desire to give the ending away. I will only say that "St. Peter's Fair" has the added bonus of a chase scene. "St. Peter's Fair" is a worthy entry in this series. The more I read of Ellis Peters, the greater my respect for her becomes. I recommend this book highly.
Rating:
Summary: Brother Cadfael with a chase scene!
Review: Of the chronicles of Brother Cadfael that I have thus far read, "St. Peter's Fair" is the most "mystery-like." No cut and dried solution springs to mind as the plot unfolds. This one had me guessing for some time. All the regular ingredients of the previous stories are here: Political wrangling, personal intrigue, a love story, and of course--a murder. Cadfael once more is a treasure trove of wisdom. Some of his lines here are classic. Cadfael is a very noble, very humane, world-weary protagonist. Ellis Peter has truly created a detective for the ages in him. In "St. Peter's Fair" Cadfael is up against one heck of a baffling case. He and Hugh Berengar (my favorite secondary character) team up to try and solve the murder of a visiting merchant. I have no desire to give the ending away. I will only say that "St. Peter's Fair" has the added bonus of a chase scene. "St. Peter's Fair" is a worthy entry in this series. The more I read of Ellis Peters, the greater my respect for her becomes. I recommend this book highly.
Rating: 
Summary: Plodding pace and unclear role for Cadfael
Review: Overall, I'm a big fan of the Cadfael series. Still, it took me almost a week to work through this book when I usually inhale a Cadfael in a day or two. Much of the problem was in the pacing. The book starts out slowly and then only has energy in fits and starts throughout. The other part is that Cadfael's role is unclear. The book has nothing to do with his herbal and medical skills. He actually seems to be meddling in a very civil matter. It also would have been nice to have more of the political elements. Oh well -- I still looking forward to reading the next book in the series (The Leper of St. Giles).
Rating:
Summary: Plodding pace and unclear role for Cadfael
Review: Overall, I'm a big fan of the Cadfael series. Still, it took me almost a week to work through this book when I usually inhale a Cadfael in a day or two. Much of the problem was in the pacing. The book starts out slowly and then only has energy in fits and starts throughout. The other part is that Cadfael's role is unclear. The book has nothing to do with his herbal and medical skills. He actually seems to be meddling in a very civil matter. It also would have been nice to have more of the political elements. Oh well -- I still looking forward to reading the next book in the series (The Leper of St. Giles).
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