≡ PDF Dead Man Ransom Brother Cadfael Mysteries Ellis Peters 9780446405164 Books

Dead Man Ransom Brother Cadfael Mysteries Ellis Peters 9780446405164 Books

Download As PDF : Dead Man Ransom Brother Cadfael Mysteries Ellis Peters 9780446405164 Books

Dead Man Ransom Brother Cadfael Mysteries Ellis Peters 9780446405164 Books

This 12th century mystery series by Ellis Peters take place in a fog of civil war, where the English and Welsh were raiding each other’s borders and supporting one or another claimant to the English throne: Empress Maud or King Stephen. In spite of the ongoing violence, the author suffuses her novels with a deep sense of peace and contentment in the monastic life. A monk from the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul at Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael, the ex-Crusader-turned herbalist is her solver of murders and mysteries of the heart. Ellis weaves a rich tapestry of his daily life on the war-torn Welsh border.

This ninth novel in a series of 21 mysteries, "Dead Man's Ransom," begins in February of 1141 with disastrous tidings for the people of Shrewsbury. King Stephen has been captured by the forces of Empress Maud, and their own sheriff, Gilbert Prestcote has fallen into the hands of Welshmen allied to the Empress.

Aline, wife of Hugh Beringer, Shrewsbury's deputy sheriff is nervously waiting for her husband to return from battle. She tells Brother Cadfael:

"Those who go forth to the battle never return without holes in their ranks, like gaping wounds."

Luckily Hugh (one of this series' long-running characters) does return and soon he has a hostage of his own: a high-ranking Welshman named Elis ap Cynan who was captured during a raid on a nearby convent.

Hugh Beringar dispatches Brother Cadfael into Wales to negotiate an exchange of prisoners: Elis for Sheriff Gilbert Prestcote.
Meanwhile, back at the castle, Elis and Prestcote's daughter, Melicent fall in love with one another, even though Melicent knows her father will never consent to her betrothal to a Welshman.

When the hostage swap goes horribly wrong, Brother Cadfael must solve a murder, and unite not one, but two sets of star-crossed lovers.

One of my favorite characters, the doughty Sister Magdelan (formerly Avice of Thornbury--see The Leper of Saint Giles (The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael Book 5)) plays an important role in "Dead Man's Ransom." After saving her convent from Welsh raiders, she teams up with Brother Cadfael to unite the young lovers. All in a day's work for my two favorite Peters' characters.


Tags : Dead Man's Ransom (Brother Cadfael Mysteries) [Ellis Peters] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The year is 1141 and civil war continues to rage. When the sheriff of Shropshire is taken prisoner, arrangements are made to exchange him for Elis,Ellis Peters,Dead Man's Ransom (Brother Cadfael Mysteries),Mysterious Press,0446405167,Mystery & Detective - General,Cadfael, Brother (Fictitious character),Detective and mystery fiction,Great Britain - History - Stephen, 1135-1154,Shrewsbury (England) - History,Civil war ; False accusations ; Prisoners,Civil war; False accusations; Prisoners,FICTION Mystery & Detective General,FICTION Mystery & Detective Traditional,Fiction,Fiction - Mystery Detective,Fiction : Mystery & Detective - Historical,Fiction-Mystery & Detective,FictionMystery & Detective - Historical,GENERAL,General Adult,Historical mysteries,Mystery & Detective - Historical,Mystery & Detective - Traditional,MysterySuspense

Dead Man Ransom Brother Cadfael Mysteries Ellis Peters 9780446405164 Books Reviews

The beloved sheriff of Shropshire, Gilbert Prestcote, is in ill-health after being taken prisoner by Welshmen allied with Empress Maud. The sisters at Godric's Ford capture Elis ap Cynan. A prisoner exchange is agreed to by Hugh Baringar and Owain Gwynedd. The Welshman bring Gilbert to the Abby of Saints Peter and Paul to recover, but he is soon murdered as he convalesces. Brother Cadfael has to work with minimal clues to solve this mystery.

A secondary plotline involves Elis falling in love with Melicent Prestcote while he is held at Shrewsbury Castle. He is betrothed to Cristina, but she is in love with his foster-brother Eliud. This romance plays an important role in the tale.

I really enjoyed this book. It gives you a good idea of how the English civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud affected this border town. Even though a major battle wasn't covered in this book, you still see how the rest of the country deals with war. The glossary at the back of the book is just wonderful.
Cadfael is off again, this time solving a mystery involving the murder of someone who has been a feature of all the books to date after a battle against rebelling forces in the North.

A Welsh noble is taken prisoner and held for ransom for this other character, who is brought out of Wales alive but only just. The noble falls in love with this man's daughter despite being betrothed to a Welsh girl, but the father has known anti-Welsh sentiments.

Then the father dies and the story starts, with Cadfael calling on his Welsh heritage to get into the thick of things.

I found this one very formulaic, overly heavy-handed with the telegraphing of parts of the story to which Cadfael is astonishingly tone-deaf so that the only way the mystery can be sustained is by revealing the clue at the very end of the book.

I'm glad this wasn't my first Cadfael book, because if it were I might have been tempted to read no more of them. I lapped up the story just to find out what the clue was going to end up being, but it was an ultimately unsatisfying read from a mystery story point of view. The reader is very much along for the ride in this one, with little chance of deducing the guilty party (though one can easily guess who it will end up being from the trope) since the vital clue is not show the reader until the end of the book.

And what of the ending? Romantically satisfying but completely unrealistic and unfeasible.

Disappointing.
Another excellent story in the Chronicles of Brother Cadfael series. This time it is 1141 and Sheriff Gilbert Prestcote along with his deputy sheriff, Hugh Beringar, have been fighting to keep the peace when the civil war comes too close to Shrewsbury. Unfortunately Prestcote is taken prisoner by the Welsh, alive but gravely injured. Before any arrangements can be made about a rescue a Benedictine nun comes from Godric's Ford to say their cell was raided. As a result they have a young Welshman who might be useful as a hostage swap. Serious problems arise when murder happens in the infirmary and Cadfael has to collect the evidence to solve the murder.

Even though this is book number nine in the series you can easily begin reading here to try it out. There are four very nice maps in the front of the book to ground you in the area where the story is taking place plus a Glossary of Terms and A Guide to Welsh Pronunciation at the back of the book. You will also get a preview of book ten, The Pilgrim of Hate. Ellis Peters writes good mystery puzzles along with interesting descriptions of the living conditions of the time. Characters are very well developed and established and it is always a real pleasure to find myself back in the abbey catching up on the lives of the continuing characters in the series.
This 12th century mystery series by Ellis Peters take place in a fog of civil war, where the English and Welsh were raiding each other’s borders and supporting one or another claimant to the English throne Empress Maud or King Stephen. In spite of the ongoing violence, the author suffuses her novels with a deep sense of peace and contentment in the monastic life. A monk from the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul at Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael, the ex-Crusader-turned herbalist is her solver of murders and mysteries of the heart. Ellis weaves a rich tapestry of his daily life on the war-torn Welsh border.

This ninth novel in a series of 21 mysteries, "Dead Man's Ransom," begins in February of 1141 with disastrous tidings for the people of Shrewsbury. King Stephen has been captured by the forces of Empress Maud, and their own sheriff, Gilbert Prestcote has fallen into the hands of Welshmen allied to the Empress.

Aline, wife of Hugh Beringer, Shrewsbury's deputy sheriff is nervously waiting for her husband to return from battle. She tells Brother Cadfael

"Those who go forth to the battle never return without holes in their ranks, like gaping wounds."

Luckily Hugh (one of this series' long-running characters) does return and soon he has a hostage of his own a high-ranking Welshman named Elis ap Cynan who was captured during a raid on a nearby convent.

Hugh Beringar dispatches Brother Cadfael into Wales to negotiate an exchange of prisoners Elis for Sheriff Gilbert Prestcote.
Meanwhile, back at the castle, Elis and Prestcote's daughter, Melicent fall in love with one another, even though Melicent knows her father will never consent to her betrothal to a Welshman.

When the hostage swap goes horribly wrong, Brother Cadfael must solve a murder, and unite not one, but two sets of star-crossed lovers.

One of my favorite characters, the doughty Sister Magdelan (formerly Avice of Thornbury--see The Leper of Saint Giles (The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael Book 5)) plays an important role in "Dead Man's Ransom." After saving her convent from Welsh raiders, she teams up with Brother Cadfael to unite the young lovers. All in a day's work for my two favorite Peters' characters.