One Corpse Too Many

A Cadfael Novel by Elis Peters.
1138 AD, Shewsburry, England. 94 corpse were hanged by King Stephen in a bloody war between him and Empress Maud yet the body count was 95. Who was the man strangled but not hanged? The murderer wanted to hide his leaf in a forest but forensic evidence was easily detected by the shrewd monk.

Brother Cadfael gets to the bottom of things and finds the murderer for Justice and for God. It is up to Hugh Beringer of Maesburry to fight the guilty is a trial by combat.
In a medieval world, Brother Cadfael is a modern thinker. He is a forensic annalist. He can spot minute details that normal people would not find and crude medieval sheriffs can't. Hugh trusted his judgment and they became friends in the process.

There are politics involved for all the characters. Some reasons explained but left the characters in the dark. As usual, there is betrayal and greed. Money was the ultimate motivator in the whole book. Cadfael thought Hugh was motivated by the secret treasury but it was actually a hidden enemy, always on the scene but not noticed until the end.

And in the end, it was not one corpse too many but three: the traitor in the camp, the secret messenger who was no hanged and the guilty person that Hugh had no choice but to kill in combat.

Brother Cadfael

Just who is Brother Cadfael?

He is a 12th Century Benedictine Monk Detective created by Edith Pargeter known as Ellis Peters.
This middle aged setting was supposedly the time of the first crusade. There, our young welsh Cadfael joined and returned sick of the world. He joined the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter and At. Paul in Shrewsburry, Shropshire. It is near the border of Wales.
In the abbey, Cadfael takes care of the Herbarium. He takes care of sick people and creates the poltice needed but he is not the infirmarer. He finds himself able to solve the crimes happening in the town surrounding the abbey. He is then tasked by the Abbot to solve it in the name of the church.
Because of this, he makes a lot of friends outside the abbey. This includes the dashing young Hugh Behringer. Cadfael becomes the godfather of his son.
Because of his quick thinking and practicality, he is like a detective. Even the sheriff askes his opinion. Since the abbey takes care of the preparation for the dead, he is also like the coroner.
He gets along with everybody and is well-loved.

I like him a lot.
There is a television series I used to watch in Hallmark about Brother Cadfael. He is played by Sir Derek Jacobi. Derek Jacobi plays Covinus in Underworld: Evolutions and as a mortuarist in Nanny McPhee.

Read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Cadfael

Novels: Brother Cadfael Series

1. A Morbid Taste for Bones (written in 1977, this episode is set in 1137)
2. One Corpse Too Many (1979, set in August 1138)
3. Monk's Hood (1980, set in December 1138)
4. Saint Peter's Fair (1981, set in July 1139)
5. The Leper of Saint Giles (1981, set in October 1139)
6. The Virgin in the Ice (1982, set in November 1139)
7. The Sanctuary Sparrow (1983, set in the Spring of 1140)
8. The Devil's Novice (1983, set in September 1140)
9. Dead Man's Ransom (1984, set in February 1141)
10. The Pilgrim of Hate (1984, set in May 1141)
11. An Excellent Mystery (1985, set in August 1141)
12. The Raven in the Foregate (1986, set in December 1141)
13. The Rose Rent (1986, set in June 1142)
14. The Hermit of Eyton Forest (1988, set in October 1142)
15. The Confession of Brother Haluin (1988, set in December 1142)
16. The Heretic's Apprentice (1990, set in June 1143)
17. The Potter's Field (1990, set in August 1143)
18. The Summer of the Danes (1991, set in April 1144)
19. The Holy Thief (1992, set in August 1144)
20. Brother Cadfael's Penance (1994, set in November 1145)

* Books I have.

Cadfael Chronicles: The Leper of St. Giles

Our Welsh Benedictine is back with another murder case. There are new characters and old ones too.
Brother Mark, his apprentice, followed his calling to take care of the lepers at St. Giles Hospice. For his sins, Cadfael is given Brother Oswin to train and make as assistant. The fumble fingered brother Oswin is kind and very industrious, overly for Cadfael but is clumsy in ways. While fretting over his herbarium, he has to see to a wedding and a murder that soon takes place. The bride is enshrouded in mystery but so is a leper from St. Giles. What is the connection between this two?
Only Brother Cadfael could guess.
He actually does and reveals all that had to be revealed for the sake of justice.
The bride is saved and all is well.
Of the leper, he disappears after he reveals himself to Cadfael.

The characters are more involved now. Brother Mark is surely trained well by Cadfael. He followed his instincts and was able to uncover clues for the murder. Sadly, no Hugh Behringer. He is at Maesbury because Aline is giving birth.

I liked the story and the way it was written. Very educational at the same time intriguing!

5th chronicle to the Cadfael Books of Ellis Peters also known as Edith Pargeter.

Cadfael Chronicles: The Hermit of Eyton Forest

14th book of Ellis Peter's Cadfael Chronicles.

There was a new Lord of Eaton and it was Richard Ludel, 10 year old student in the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter and Paul in Shewsburry, Shropshire. He was left to the care of the abbot by his ailing father and was tasked guardian should he die before hand. The grandmother of Richard has other plans. She fights the abbot for the custody of Richard.
Aiding her is the Hermit of Eyton Forest. Aiding Richard are the monks of the abbey and the Hermit's man servant, Hyacinth.
When a man is discovered murdered in Eyton Forest and Richard and the man servant missing, there seems to be something amiss. The abbot turns to Brother Cadfael to know what is truly happening. He gets to the bottom of things and learned that the Hermit is not as he seems.

This time, Cadfael does not discover all things by himself. The players of the story discover bits and pieces themselves and it is actually up to Richard and Hyacinth to get the truth out and save themselves from the forces trying to dictate their lives.