Once again, murder visits the quiet abbey that Cadfael calls home. Times are uncertain and small skirmishes are breaking out as King Stephen and Queen Maud vie for control of England. In one of the skirmishes, the local sheriff, Gilbert Prestcote has been wounded and captured by the Welsh and a young Welshman has been captured while taking part in a raid into the English territory. A prisoner exchange is arranged, with Gilbert to exchanged for the boy, Elis ap Cynan. But the exchange is called off when the sheriff is smothered to death in his sleep.
It seems there are three main suspects in the sheriff's death. Elis has fallen in love at first sight with the sheriff's lovely young daughter, Melicent. But the sheriff hates the Welsh and will probably not allow Elis and Melicent to be together. Another is Maurice, a crazy old man who holds a grudge against the sheriff because of something that happened before Gilbert was even born. And there is also Anion, who blames Gilbert for hanging his half-brother for killing a man in a drunken brawl a couple of years ago. But actually, there is a fourth person who may have wanted the sheriff dead. It will be up to Cadfael to straighten out the tangled threads of this mystery.
It's odd, but this story has a lot in common with the other Cadfael story I read not long ago, The Leper of Saint Giles. A young man who wants to marry a girl he can't have. A young woman promised in marriage to a man she doesn't want. A man accused of murder who is completely innocent. A missing piece of jewelry that may point the finger at the real killer. And, of course, Cadfael's keen powers of observation to discover the clues to the truth.
But I didn't enjoy this story quite as much as the Leper of Saint Giles. Mainly because politics and battles are an important part of the story, two subjects that don't appeal very much to me. Still, it was a pretty good read.
Here is a review by Publishers Weekly.
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