Dead Man's Ransom

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Always a winner! - Rated
Ellis Peters is always a good read and Dead Man's Ransom is no exception. The book is set on the border of Mediaeval Wales, where a hot-headed young Welsh nobleman gets caught by the English and held to ransom for the return of the Sheriff of Shropshire. All seems well in hand until the Sheriff is returned to the Shire and is suddenly murdered. Its up to Brother Cadfael to found out once again who dunnit? The historical detail is brilliant and indeed I, who am not a fan of who dunnit's, found this book throughly enjoyable because of what it said about customs of the time. I half listened to it while my mother was listening to the audio-version and was so hooked I took the tapes away and listened to it again. The characters are well-drawn and one comes to understand their motivations. They have their faults which aren't resolved in a sickly-sweet happy ending. The only problem I had with this book was the punishment meted out to the murderer. I cannot agree with the characters actions in this case and therefore found it hard to come away from the story with a good feeling, which is definitely the kind of story this is meant to be.

Peters triumps with outstanding 'Ransom' - Rated
In the tenth installment of the ever-so-popular Brother Cadfael series, author Ellis Peters proves a winner once again with "Dead Man's Ransom."

Set in the year 1141, civil war runs amok in Britain between King Stephen and the Empress Maud, and it appears that the end of the twelve year old struggle is in sight. The war has taken its toll in many areas, as civil wars do, and the people are quite weary of it all. Maud's forces, however, now have captured the king himself.

The sheriff of Shropshire, too, has been taken captive. This means, in those days, that in all likelihood an exchange of prisoners will take place.

Alas, one of the captives is now dead and it is our Brother Cadfael who senses that, indeed, it is murder, and, just as naturally as Peters would have it, it is he who is given the responsibility to solve the case and to try to bring about the release of the king.

Brother Cadfael is the former crusader now a Benedictine monk, who specializes in herbal medicines, solving murders, and compassion. Peters (Edith Pargeter) has developed her Cadfael through this series of medieval whodunits into a man of the cloth easily admired and respected. He is a man of firm, and devout, principles; a man who seems to carry the weight of the shire on his own Welch-born shoulders!

Peters has made grand the area of Shropshire, and especially the town of Shrewsbury there on the Welch borders. She has also created an exciting family of literary characters to complement Cadfael: Hugh Beringar (deputy sheriff of the shire and Cadfael's closest friend) and his wife Aline, Abbot Radulfus (the venerable patriarch of the abbey, and other members of the abbey.

It is not essential that this series be read from the start (with "A Morbid Taste for Bones"), as this book could easily be read first and it would still hold up as a book on its own; however, readers generally will want to read them in order, as the presentation of character, of historical events, of character-interaction does show development in the series' genealogy. Peters died a few years ago and apparently there are no more Cadfael episodes aside from the twenty or so published, but each of the books extant bring the reader a treasure of reading adventures.