Ellis Peters

Setting out for the Saint Giles leper colony outside Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael has more pressing matters on his mind than the grand wedding coming to his abbey. Yet as fate would have it, Cadfael arrives at Saint Giles just as the nuptial party passes the colony's gates. He sees the fragile bride, looking like a prisoner between her two stern guardians, and the bridegroom-an arrogant, fleshy aristocrat old enough to be her grandfather-and he quickly...

The winter of 1139 will disrupt Brother Cadfael's tranquil life in Shrewsbury, as raging civil war has sent refugees fleeing north from Worcester. Among them are two young orphans from a noble family and their companion, a young Benedictine nun. The trio, never reaching Shrewsbury, have disappeared somewhere in the wild countryside. Cadfael feels afraid for these three lost lambs, but another call for help sends him to the Church of Saint Mary. A...

In the early twelfth century, civil war rages between the English and the Welsh. In the battle of Lincoln, the Welsh capture the sheriff of Shropshire and barter him for a young Welsh lord, who had been captured during a misguided assault on a convent. But before the exchange can be completed, one of the prisoners mysteriously dies. Brother Cadfael suspects foul play--his theory hanging on a single thread that binds together the destinies of an unusual...

In the year of our Lord 1141, civil war over England's throne leaves a legacy of violence--and the murder of a knight dear to Brother Cadfael. In the spring, a flood of pilgrims comes to the celebration of Saint Winifred at the Abbey, carrying with it many strange souls...and perhaps the knight's killer. Brother Cadfael's shrewd eyes see all: the prosperous merchant who rings false; an angelic, lame boy and his beautiful, dowerless sister; and two...

A body is found among a crowd of visitors to Shrewsbury, leaving Cadfael to uncover possible explanations for the death.

Cadfael, a Benedictine monk at an abbey in Middle Ages Shrewsbury, solves crimes and murders.