Rating: 
Summary: Disagree With A Review Posted
Review: "... this story was most tedious and far-fetched. I couldn't believe that this young woman would do what she did for a man she hardly knew..."I am currently reading The Crusades by Zoe Oldenbourg. From this book and others, the type of action taken by this young woman is very believable *FOR THE TIME*. Women worshipped heroic men and marriage was not a match for love, but for property. To put it in a more modern perspective, what if a young girl was told that in 10 years time she would be the wife of Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt or Kid Rock. Certainly, she would spend much of her growing years yearning for every scrap of information and growing into a bond with the legend of him.
Rating:
Summary: Disagree With A Review Posted
Review: "... this story was most tedious and far-fetched. I couldn't believe that this young woman would do what she did for a man she hardly knew..." I am currently reading The Crusades by Zoe Oldenbourg. From this book and others, the type of action taken by this young woman is very believable *FOR THE TIME*. Women worshipped heroic men and marriage was not a match for love, but for property. To put it in a more modern perspective, what if a young girl was told that in 10 years time she would be the wife of Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt or Kid Rock. Certainly, she would spend much of her growing years yearning for every scrap of information and growing into a bond with the legend of him.
Rating:
Summary: An understatement!
Review: Beyond excellent - Peters adds a great plot to her usual fine writing and engaging characters. Once started it is addictive.
Rating:
Summary: My favourite in this series!
Review: Ellis Peters will be missed. BUT! Now Brother Cadfael belongs to history, and the readers who love him so. Start at the beginning and READ THIS SERIES! Miss Peters had an unparalleled gift for conjuring the most beautiful images with her words. I mean, how many people can write about the grim and gritty middle ages and almost make you want to live there? When Cadfael digs in his garden and breathes in the scent of his herbs, you are there, my friend. Truly my favourite volume of this 20 book series. EP gives us two of the most amazing characters and a plot line that roves all over England and still keep you guessing. Treasure this book, you will read it over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: My favourite in this series!
Review: Ellis Peters will be missed. BUT! Now Brother Cadfael belongs to history, and the readers who love him so. Start at the beginning and READ THIS SERIES! Miss Peters had an unparalleled gift for conjuring the most beautiful images with her words. I mean, how many people can write about the grim and gritty middle ages and almost make you want to live there? When Cadfael digs in his garden and breathes in the scent of his herbs, you are there, my friend. Truly my favourite volume of this 20 book series. EP gives us two of the most amazing characters and a plot line that roves all over England and still keep you guessing. Treasure this book, you will read it over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the Brother Cadfael Mysteries
Review: I have to say that this is my favorite of the Chronicles. It has great characters, a riveting storyline, and the most beautiful picture of true, sacrificial love I have ever read. To say anymore would give away the ending. DO NOT skip ahead in this one or you will not get the full impact of the story. It is better to keep guessing. But read it a second time to get the details that you missed from not knowing the secret.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the Brother Cadfael Mysteries
Review: I have to say that this is my favorite of the Chronicles. It has great characters, a riveting storyline, and the most beautiful picture of true, sacrificial love I have ever read. To say anymore would give away the ending. DO NOT skip ahead in this one or you will not get the full impact of the story. It is better to keep guessing. But read it a second time to get the details that you missed from not knowing the secret.
Rating:
Summary: The best of an outstanding series
Review: In this moving and dramatic story,Ellis Peters succeeds in doing something I thought was impossible in a mystery - and I am a mystery writer myself. I can't tell what it is without giving away the end. All I can say is that in addition to a story that intrigues from the first scene,characters and relationships you will never forget, and a fully-realized historical setting, there is an ending that will first thrill you and then make you say, "How did she do that???" And then you will want to read it all over again.
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Good Mystery
Review: It is the late summer of 1141. The war between King Stephen and Empress Maud to decide who will rule England continues. As the fighting rages, the abbey in Winchester is destroyed and two of the displaced monks find their way to the Abbey of Saints Peter and Paul at Shrewsbury. Brother Humilis is a former crusader who is slowly dying of his wounds. He is accompanied by Brother Fidelis, a young mute who is devoted (for reasons unknown) to the care of Humilis. But their relationship is only one mystery. Another is what has happened to Julian Croce, a young woman fron a manor in the north of the shire who seems to have disappeared while on her way to join a convent near Winchester. Peters books are a pleasure to read. She exhibits an elegant turn of phrase that. As someone else here has already remarked, she makes the "grim and gritty middle ages" sound like someplace you might actually want to live. And this is one of her better plots. I figured out what was going on about halfway through, but only because I got an unintentional hint from someone who had already read the book. Even so, it was a pleasure to watch the story unfold. Elegant style and clever plotting aside, however, the story is a bit over-romanticized. For example, at one point Nicholas rides non-stop from Winchester to Shrewsbury, through both day and night and, finally, through a storm. He "must get his tale at once to the ears of authority" and he "dared not stop hating, or the remaining grief became more than he could stand." All this intense feeling over a girl he had only met once, three years earlier. Sorry if this makes me a chauvinist, but clearly this is a woman writing about how women wish men felt about them. This is the mystical ideal of chivalrous love. It isn't how a young man would really feel under such circumstances. This is typical of Peters and it doesn't really hurt the story, but it is a bit gushy and you can tell a woman wrote it. For a male reader, it's just a little over the top. Peters is a charming writer. She paints a vivid, if somewhat romanticized, picture of life in the 1100's. Cadfael and the rest of her characters are congenial and her stories are light, but entertaining. The mysteries are sometimes a bit transparent, but not this one. This is one of her better ones. Cadfael fans will definitely enjoy it. Others should keep in mind that this is definitely a romantic mystery. Also, if you haven't read a Cadfael mystery before, you should consider starting at the beginning of the series. That said, I recommend "An Excellent Mystery" to those who like this type of story. It's better than most.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the Brother Cadfael books so far in sequence!
Review: This Brother Cadfael mystery was absolutely riviting; I couldn't put it down. I know it sounds cliche, but true. I have been reading the books in order and this is the best one so far. I was totally engrossed in the plot and characters. The silent monk and the former nobleman turned monk were beautifully formed characters. The interplay between the repeating characters of the series was at its best in this novel. It just made me want to finish the series, so I could start all over again. I highly recommend any of the Brother Cadfael mysteries, but feel they should be read in some sequence to understand the relationships between some of the characters - especially our dear Brother and Sheriff Hugh Beringer. They are one of the best detective pairings since Perry Mason and Paul Drake.
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