This is the sixth book in the Brother Cadfael mystery series. There is almost too much going on in this short mystery. The war between King Stephen and Empress Maud has drawn near to Shrewsbury Abbey where most people side with King Stephen. The two children of a newly returned Crusader and their escort, a Benedictine nun, have disappeared on their way from war ravaged Worcester. A monk from a nearby abbey has been severely beaten by persons unknown and Cadfael is called to the priory at Bromfield to treat him. On the way there he finds the thirteen year old boy at the home of a farmer. The boy tell him how his eighteen year old sister ran off with a man known to their family. Cadfael also discovers the body of a young woman frozen in a stream. In the mean time, a band of raiders has been looting the local manors, killing the residents, and burning the places to the ground. Hugh Beringar, the deputy sheriff for the area and Cadfael's close friend, is charged with searching for the missing children and finding the pillagers. When the girl is recovered, the boy and the injured monk disappear and more searching begins. In the end, a hostage situation is defused, the bad guys are all caught, and Cadfael meets the son he fathered while a knight on Crusade. Oh yeah, most of the action takes place during a blizzard. All that in 220 pages. Whew!
No comments:
Post a Comment