King Stephen's bloody siege against the town of Shrewsbury has reduced many of its stores and homes to rubble. The townspeople, busy preparing for the annual St. Peter's Fair, complain that the Shrewsbury monks have not shouldered their fair share of the burden. Cadfael, hoping to assuage flaring tempers, is drawn into a worse kind of violence on the eve of the festival.
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"Another wonderful episode in the series about Cadfael, a monk living in the England of almost a thousand years ago. Along with the intriguing story line and the fascinating historical details, the author blesses us with philosophical observations. Page 63: "Penitence is in the heart, not in the words spoken.""
— Poetreehugger (4 out of 5 stars)
" The annual fair is here. The town is still hurting from the siege. the merchants are not happy. Fair vendors are turning up dead. It all seems to surround one young lady. Cadfael.... "
— Daniel, 2/18/2014" Ellis Peters' Cadfael chronicles are fascinating. This was another great read. "
— Connie, 2/14/2014" Well, this one had a new twist, but the formula remains clear. We meet two new young people - girl/boy - there is another, duplicitous. There is a murder. Girl seems to fall for duplicitous one, gets in trouble. Is rescued by Brother Cadfael and/or the smitten lad. Still, very nice. "
— Sandra, 2/11/2014" Slightly cheesy and predictable but a great comfort read. "
— Delilah, 2/6/2014" Nothing is ever quite as it seem in the Benedictine Abbey in Shrewsbury where Bother Cadfael lives and this book was not a disappointment. "
— Marisa, 1/31/2014" Good story well-written. 3.5 stars "
— Zuzana, 1/26/2014" love the rich language peters' writes. so evocative. "
— kirsten, 1/24/2014" Interesting mystery with a twist. Also loved this quote by Brother Cadfael: 'The manifold gifts of God are there to be delighted in, to fall short of joy would be ingratitude.' "
— Trish, 1/18/2014" Great twists and turns--I could really sense the murderer closing in. I had guessed who it was partway through but I enjoyed how the author tried to divert me from him. Really sweet love story too. "
— Elena, 1/18/2014" Cadfael books are like a palate cleanser between larger, more demanding novels. As such, I always enjoy going back to them every couple of books. This one is no exception! "
— Gregg, 1/16/2014" Alice says, "I always enjoy the author's deft descriptions of each character in the Brother Cadfael mysteries." "
— Westerville, 1/15/2014" I still liked this book, but it was a little different from the others and didn't hold my interest as much. "
— Marlene, 1/13/2014" 3 stars. i'm re-collecting this whole series, for probably the third time. and rereading as they come to hand. even though it would be nice to read the whole series in order just once. but that would mean waiting. this one's not the best example of this series. but it's still fun, to look in on Brother Cadfael's herb garden, and the monastery's power struggles, and the dissensions between that other town and gown. and it's 1139: so there's a larger civil war being fought around the city of Shrewbury, between King Stephen and the Empress Maud. of all the historical mystery series, this one is still the best. "
— Macha, 1/10/2014" Listening to Patrick Tull is such a delight. "
— CatBookMom, 1/2/2014" The Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters is a wonderful set of mysteries that take place in 12th century England. Ellis Peters does a wonderful job of describing all the characters and she is a great mystery writer. The cases are complicated enough to make them interesting. "
— Hazel, 12/25/2013" Lovely as always! The scenario- a twelfth century fair- is described beautifully by Ellis Peters. If you haven't already, check out the tv series. It's not as good as the books but it's still very well done with Derek Jacobi as Cadfael. "
— Medea, 12/25/2013" As usual, Peters' writing caused me to step into another world; her historical setting and her characters come to life. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because I found the mystery a bit too obvious. But that didn't lessen my enjoyment of Peters' writing. "
— Libby, 12/6/2013" Good. I always enjoy my time with Brother Cadfael. It makes me want to grow more herbs and flowers with medicinal and other practical uses. "
— Vickie, 12/5/2013" This was my first Father Cadfael mystery and was loaned to me by a friend. I am now hooked and must find the rest of Ellis Peters' books. "
— Linda, 11/22/2013" A pretty good mystery, overall. Likeable protagonists and some international intrigue thrown into the mix, with a few red herrings to keep you guessing. "
— Jeremy, 11/14/2013" Book 4. Typical Cadfael. Intriguing characters and a light, predictible mystery. "
— Kim, 11/8/2013" Listening to Patrick Tull is such a delight. "
— CatBookMom, 10/27/2013" The Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters is a wonderful set of mysteries that take place in 12th century England. Ellis Peters does a wonderful job of describing all the characters and she is a great mystery writer. The cases are complicated enough to make them interesting. "
— Hazel, 10/23/2013" The annual fair is here. The town is still hurting from the siege. the merchants are not happy. Fair vendors are turning up dead. It all seems to surround one young lady. Cadfael.... "
— Daniel, 10/22/2013" Medieval mystery. Quite a novel idea having the main character being a monk. "
— Lindsay, 10/18/2013" Another good novel of Brother Cadfael with Hugh Beringar along to help. I liked it; it was fun to read. The evildoers came to light slowly. It was a good yarn. "
— Frode, 9/9/2013" Another good novel of Brother Cadfael with Hugh Beringar along to help. I liked it; it was fun to read. The evildoers came to light slowly. It was a good yarn. "
— Frode, 7/28/2013" A pretty good mystery, overall. Likeable protagonists and some international intrigue thrown into the mix, with a few red herrings to keep you guessing. "
— Jeremy, 7/5/2013" Cadfael books are like a palate cleanser between larger, more demanding novels. As such, I always enjoy going back to them every couple of books. This one is no exception! "
— Gregg, 1/21/2013" Very good, as always! Plot got a bit slow in spots, but overall well written. "
— Cindi, 11/16/2012" Once again figuring out "whodunnit" fairly quickly but enjoying the stories greatly! "
— Meghan, 11/16/2012" The Cadfaels are almost always pleasant bedtime reading owing to a certain charming coziness they have. I prefer to read each so that it matches the real world season to season, but even though this was a summer book read in winter, it still provided plenty of pleasant pre-sleep daydream fodder. "
— Priscilla, 9/3/2012" Interesting mystery with a twist. Also loved this quote by Brother Cadfael: 'The manifold gifts of God are there to be delighted in, to fall short of joy would be ingratitude.' "
— Trish, 6/22/2012" Slow start for a Brother Cadfael mystery, but a barn-burning end. You won't be able to stop once you get to the "Day After the Fair" section! "
— Jill, 5/11/2012" Another solid addition to the series. Operates at a couple of different levels which maintains the suspense throughout. Even when you think you know who did it, you don't know why. "
— Ryan, 4/28/2012" the more I read, the more I like these books "
— benebean, 4/19/2012" St. Peter's Fair is the fourth novel in the Brother Cadfael series. Not bad, but they are all very similar. "
— Kat, 3/22/2012" the more I read, the more I like these books "
— benebean, 2/9/2012" I think this is the one (warning: spoiler) where they find the guy with his tongue cut out. That was fun. "
— Gwen, 1/4/2012" An interesting novel taken a little out of its usual setting, but still solved by the amazing Cadfael. "
— Beka, 12/31/2011" An interesting novel taken a little out of its usual setting, but still solved by the amazing Cadfael. "
— Beka, 12/10/2011" Very good, as always! Plot got a bit slow in spots, but overall well written. "
— Cindi, 10/3/2011" As with all of Peters' books, this was well-written and interesting, and I loved immersing myself within Cadfael's world. "
— Beth, 9/16/2011" I'd watched the tv episode of this recently. The two stories are close enough to stop this being exciting. "
— ~Anita~, 8/23/2011" Once again figuring out "whodunnit" fairly quickly but enjoying the stories greatly! "
— Meghan, 6/10/2011" As with all of Peters' books, this was well-written and interesting, and I loved immersing myself within Cadfael's world. "
— Beth, 5/12/2011" Slow start for a Brother Cadfael mystery, but a barn-burning end. You won't be able to stop once you get to the "Day After the Fair" section! "
— Jill, 3/26/2011" Slow start for a Brother Cadfael mystery, but a barn-burning end. You won't be able to stop once you get to the "Day After the Fair" section! "
— Jill, 3/26/2011" Nothing is ever quite as it seem in the Benedictine Abbey in Shrewsbury where Bother Cadfael lives and this book was not a disappointment. "
— Marisa, 3/8/2011" Nothing is ever quite as it seem in the Benedictine Abbey in Shrewsbury where Bother Cadfael lives and this book was not a disappointment. "
— Marisa, 3/8/2011" Great twists and turns--I could really sense the murderer closing in. I had guessed who it was partway through but I enjoyed how the author tried to divert me from him. Really sweet love story too. "
— Elena, 12/5/2010" Great twists and turns--I could really sense the murderer closing in. I had guessed who it was partway through but I enjoyed how the author tried to divert me from him. Really sweet love story too. "
— Elena, 12/5/2010" An interesting novel taken a little out of its usual setting, but still solved by the amazing Cadfael. "
— Beka, 11/12/2010" An interesting novel taken a little out of its usual setting, but still solved by the amazing Cadfael. "
— Beka, 11/12/2010" As with all of Peters' books, this was well-written and interesting, and I loved immersing myself within Cadfael's world. "
— Beth, 9/11/2010" As with all of Peters' books, this was well-written and interesting, and I loved immersing myself within Cadfael's world. "
— Beth, 9/11/2010" Alice says, "I always enjoy the author's deft descriptions of each character in the Brother Cadfael mysteries." "
— Westerville, 5/11/2010" Alice says, "I always enjoy the author's deft descriptions of each character in the Brother Cadfael mysteries." "
— Westerville, 5/11/2010" Very interesting to learn about how the fair operated and conflicts between the town and the abbey. This one was more about politics than the last one. "
— Vicki, 1/13/2010" Very interesting to learn about how the fair operated and conflicts between the town and the abbey. This one was more about politics than the last one. "
— Vicki, 1/13/2010" I think this is the one (warning: spoiler) where they find the guy with his tongue cut out. That was fun. "
— Gwen, 6/12/2009" I think this is the one (warning: spoiler) where they find the guy with his tongue cut out. That was fun. "
— Gwen, 6/12/2009Ellis Peters (1913–1995) was the pen name of English novelist Edith Pargeter, author of scores of books under her own name. She was a recipient of the Silver Dagger Award and the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, conferred by the Crime Writers’ Association of Great Britain, as well as the coveted Edgar Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America.