The hermit of Eyton Forest

Brother Cadfael, the 11th century Benedictine monk who functions admirably as healer, matchmaker and sleuth, marshals his considerable talents to solve two murders in this well-plotted but somewhat slick mystery. Ten-year-old Richard Ludel, a bright and independent student entrusted to the abbey's care by his father, has just inherited a large estate upon his father's death. His formidable grandmother, Dame Dionisia, insists that the unwilling boy be returned home and marry the heiress to the adjoining property. Two mysterious tenants on Dame Dionisia's land, a devout hermit, Cuthred, and his young aid, Hyacinth, are in league wtih the domineering dowager, who is unaware that Hyacinth is actually a runaway villein and that Cuthred's background is particularly heinous. When Richard disappears from the abbey, Dame Dionisia is immediately suspect. Other ominous events follow rapidly: an inquisitive nobleman is murdered in the forest; Hyacinth vanishes; and Cuthred is stabbed to death. Brother Cadfael must summon all his talents to solve the crimes, simultaneously playing matchmaker, doctor and high political games. Unfortunately, most of the characters are glibly superficial: lovers are fair and pure; villains cruel and swarthy. In his 14th appearance, however, Brother Cadfael remains as shrewd and unpredictable as ever. (March) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Little peace is to be found in England in the year 1142 as civil war continues to rage. The effects of the violence reach even into the cloistered world of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul. Richard Ludel, the father of one of the abbey's students, has recently died of wounds received in battle. His ten-year-old son, also called Richard, has now become Lord of Eaton. Richard's formidable grandmother, Dionysia, wants the boy released from the abbey's custody, where his father placed him, into her own. She has contracted a child marriage for young Richard that will gain the Ludels control over a large neighboring estate. No one is exactly what they seem, and more than one character has a past that bears closer examination. Add to this several subplots and a large amount of political intrigue, and you have a great story. Although Brother Cadfael is more an observer than an actor in this work, bodies and red herrings pile up in a satisfying way before all the puzzles are solved. In a departure from most of the Cadfael books, the reader here is female, Roe Kendall. The gender change does not diminish the listener's pleasure; Kendall has a fine touch with accents, and it is easy to tell the characters apart. Recommended for public library collections where works by Peters and historical mysteries are popular. Barbara Rhodes, Northeast Texas Lib. Syst., Garland (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Another in the ever-fascinating Brother Cadfael chronicles (The Rose Rent, etc.). taking the reader back to 12th-century England, where Cadfael's Benedictine Abbey in Shrewsbury is relatively untouched by the country's civil war. There's a different war being waged there, however, after the death of Richard Ludel, Lord of Eaton. His ten-year-old son and heir Richard, placed in the cave of Abbot Radulfus years before, has been kidnapped from the Abbey by his imperious grandmother Dionisia in a scheme to marry him to Hiltrude, daughter of neighboring landowner Fulke Astley, and thus to magnify the holdings of both. Stalwart, clever Richard was entrapped by his own good will towards Hyacinth, a runaway serf, object of a vindictive manhunt by brutal Drogo Bosiet and his son Aymer. Now Hyacinth, acting as servant to hermit and self-designated holy man Cuthred, is forced to hide, with help from new-found love Annet. And when Bosiet pete is found stabbed to death in the forest, the hunt is truly on--not only for his killer but for the missing Richard. Cadfael teams with Sheriff Hugh Beringar, as he has many times before, to solve those puzzles, a second murder, the mystery of an older, never-solved crime, and the part played in all of it by reticent Abbey visitor Rafe De Genville. Swift-moving, intricate plotting, richly tapestried background, and unpretentious but literate style in the telling once again work their magic as Peters continues to en-thrall. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Brother Cadfael, the 11th century Benedictine monk who functions admirably as healer, matchmaker and sleuth, marshals his considerable talents to solve two murders in this well-plotted but somewhat slick mystery. Ten-year-old Richard Ludel, a bright and independent student entrusted to the abbey's care by his father, has just inherited a large estate upon his father's death. His formidable grandmother, Dame Dionisia, insists that the unwilling boy be returned home and marry the heiress to the adjoining property. Two mysterious tenants on Dame Dionisia's land, a devout hermit, Cuthred, and his young aid, Hyacinth, are in league wtih the domineering dowager, who is unaware that Hyacinth is actually a runaway villein and that Cuthred's background is particularly heinous. When Richard disappears from the abbey, Dame Dionisia is immediately suspect. Other ominous events follow rapidly: an inquisitive nobleman is murdered in the forest; Hyacinth vanishes; and Cuthred is stabbed to death. Brother Cadfael must summon all his talents to solve the crimes, simultaneously playing matchmaker, doctor and high political games. Unfortunately, most of the characters are glibly superficial: lovers are fair and pure; villains cruel and swarthy. In his 14th appearance, however, Brother Cadfael remains as shrewd and unpredictable as ever. (March) Copyright 1988 Cahners Business Information.