I did like this one. Often the first book or two in a series are the weakest as the author, not to mention the characters, begin finding their way in their world, but Brother Cadfael seems to be well fleshed out from the beginning. The plot hangs together fairly well, and the driving motivations of all the main characters make for some interesting interactions between them. Finally - and this is always a favorite plot device of mine - there is just a hint that St. Winifred is taking a direct hand in the proceedings. Nothing so crass as melting away the bad guys like Indiana Jones, but, just as you would expect from a saint, a light touch having a significant effect; and the touch is so light it's not clear that it's really there. Nicely done, although if it happened in every book of the series it would get old fast. ( )

Fifty-seven year old Welshman Brother Cadfael is a “squat, barrel-chested, bandy-legged” Benedictine monk in the 12th Century at the Abbey of Shrewsbury. He came to the monastery late in life after an action-packed youth that included a stint in the Crusades. The Abbey is a sort of retirement for him, and he works in the herbarium. There he is assisted by “the youngsters” Brother John and Brother Columbanus, only two years tonsured.

The Abbey Administrator, Prior Robert, ambitious and vain, is seeking some saintly relics (at that time they were considered as good as penicillin for what ailed you) to add to the glory of himself as well as the Abbey. Thus, he looks toward Wales, “where it was well known that holy men and women had been common as mushrooms in autumn…”

After a vision by Brother Columbanus, they settle on Winifred of Gwytherin in Wales, and the Abbot sends out a delegation to get her bones. Brother Cadfael goes along as an interpreter. In Gwytherin, the primary opponent of moving the saint, Rhisiart, is murdered, and Brother Cadfael helps solve the crime with the assistance of Sioned, the beautiful daughter of the murdered man.

When Brother Cadfael isn’t solving mysteries, he’s playing matchmaker, helping various young people find love and happiness. This process is assisted by his sense of humor, a wry religious realism, and a generosity of spirit. In addition, he alludes to memories of happiness with women as a young man, so you get a strong image of Anna in "The King and I," looking out at the starry night and singing:

"Hello young lovers, whoever you are,
I hope your troubles are few.
All my good wishes go with you tonight,
I've been in love like you.

Be brave, young lovers, and follow your star,
Be brave and faithful and true,
Cling very close to each other tonight.
I've been in love like you.

I know how it feels to have wings on your heels,
And to fly down the street in a trance.
You fly down a street on the chance that you meet,
And you meet -- not really by chance.

Don't cry young lovers, whatever you do,
Don't cry because I'm alone;
All of my memories are happy tonight,
I've had a love of my own.
I've had a love of my own, like yours-
I've had a love of my own."

Evaluation: This is a book one might call cozy-historical. It’s pleasant enough, although it’s a bit like drinking lite beer. The mystery is fairly obvious, and the characters aren’t fully fleshed out: what we learn about them is pretty much on a need-to-know basis. Still, you get some interesting insights into 12th Century England and Wales, especially into the religious life, and the story is not without its charms. It provides an enjoyable way to pass some time, although to be honest, the next book in the series is better. I would say this first book is one in which Peters sets out the premises of the series, lays some background, and tests her stride. You don't need to read it to keep going in the series, but you won't regret reading it, either. ( )

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters is the first of a long series of Brother Cadfael mysteries. I have watched many televised episodes, in no particular order, and enjoyed them a great deal. Of course, I am generally a fan of BBC and most of my limited viewing time is devoted to British productions.

In this story, the ambitious members of Brother Cadfael's monastery decide to appropriate an obscure Welsh saint for the benefits that miracles and pilgrims can bring. Brother Cadfael, with his Welsh background and language skills joins the expedition over the border to translate the saint's bones. Not surprisingly, the local villagers are not pleased with the idea, and the most outspoken opponent turns up dead. In this story, Brother Cadfael relies on basic forensics observations rather than his extensive herbal and botanical knowledge to investigate the murder, though the book clearly lays out his personality and background.

It was a charming story that brought the era to life and highlighted the differences between Wales and England. It also gives insights into monastic life, which must seem quite alien to most modern readers. The characters were sympathetically drawn though without much depth. The dialogue was good, the narrative was in reasonable proportion, and the plot was moderately interesting if generally predictable. And of course, the poetic justice was lovely. ( )

In this First Chronicle of Brother Cadfael of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul at Shrewsbury we journey with Brother Cadfael and a retinue from the abbey to Gwytherin, Wales to recover the bones of St. Winifred from her resting place in a small cemetery in Gwytherin and transport her to grace the grand altar at Shrewsbury. We witness the clash of two cultures as the patrician Norman, Prior Robert of Shrewsbury, who thinks in terms of heirarchies and Rhisiart, the landholder of Gwytherin who thinks in terms of blood ties battle over the right to St. Winifred's bones. Prior Robert, who comes with the blessing and authority of church and state and with an overbearing arrogance has little to say to a culture which looks upon itself as kinship members, with different places but not inferior one to the other. Brother Cadfael, a native of Wales, is in the thick of the arguments and resulting murders with his empathetic outlook and his knowledge of the language and culture. A surprise ending which will be alluded to and cause unease to Cadfael in succeeding books of this very engaging series of medieval mystery by a master storyteller. ( )

At last I've started the Brother Cadfael mysteries, after several friends recommended the books for quite some time. I enjoyed this story and I'll certainly be looking for the rest of the series.

Brother Cadfael is an old Welsh adventurer, who has joined the Benedictine order as a retirement rather than for religious reasons. He is quite worldy-wise and astute about the motivations of others, and he observes his spiritual brothers with interest. I found him a little too cynically modern in his thinking, a little too easy to relate to — but I suppose it would be difficult for modern readers to really identify with a zealously strict monk.

In this first story, Brother Cadfael joins a party from his monastery that is going in search of a saint's relics to boost its monastery's importance among the religious orders. Everyone around this time was relic-crazy, with bones and body parts of saints performing great miracles (or so everyone said) for the faithful. Prior Robert, who is leading their group, has set his sights on Saint Winifred, a centuries-old saint of a small village in Wales. The people of the village don't want the monks to take her away, and one man in particular, Rhisiart, leads the movement against the monks' mission. When he is found murdered with an arrow through his chest, the resistance collapses. Prior Robert claims that it's saintly vengeance for Rhisiart's opposition to the monks. But Brother Cadfael knows better — who really killed Rhisiart?

Brother Cadfael begins his own investigations, aided by the dead man's daughter Sioned. The story has a good dash of humor, especially with the earthy, young Brother John, and there is also a bit of the supernatural. Of course a lot of it is just the ready ambition and competition of the monks, but not everything is so neatly explained. I like that... so much in religious experience is overblown and unreal, but not all of it. And there are some good insights about religion and psychology. My favorite line: "It's a kind of arrogance to be so certain you're past redemption."

Peters gives plenty of hints about Brother Cadfael's varied past, and it will be interesting to see how these things pop up in later stories. Though the mystery is nothing earth-shattering, it's fairly well-written, and the characters are interesting. Enjoyable and light. ( )

In 1137 a delegation of monks from Shrewsbury Abbey in England, journey to Gwytherin Wales to collect the sacred remains of Saint Winifred. The wise and slightly irreverent native Welshman, Brother Cadfael, is included on the holy expedition as the interpreter. Their reception by the residents of Gwytherin is not entirely welcome as the villagers are reluctant to give up their Saint. When one of the leading opponents ends up with an arrow to the heart, some villagers believe that it is the Saint herself making her wishes known. But wise and worldly Brother Cadfael recognizes a murder victim when he sees one, and is quietly determined to solve the mystery.

This short novel is certainly not great literature but it is an enjoyable read. It's a truly delightful mystery with an ending that is both fitting and humorous. I'm looking forward to reading other books in the series. ( )

An enjoyable series. Love the setting, the main character, etc. Only complaint is that a certain predictability arises as the series develops. ( )

....and all the Ellis Peters Cadfael series. Excellent. ( )

In the first part the characters are described; at p. 114 the adding of characters is stopped and a murder is analyzed in the nexth pages by experimenting. Things work not out so well, such is life. At the end the quality of the plot is diminishing; more humour is introduced and a happy ending concludes a nice story, which puts you back in time. ( )

Cadfael's first outing. He is sent with a party of monks into Wales to get hold of the bones of a neglected saint for the abbey. But the locals don't want to let the saint go, and then the body of the spokesman for the locals' opposition is found murdered. Cadfield sorts it all out and makes sure love wins out as well. ( )

I love this series. This series got me into reading and I've never looked back! ( )

I’m not one for murder mysteries, but this one was kind of neat. Brother Cadfael is a former crusader who has taken the vow at a monastery in Shrewsbury. Unlike his contemporaries, he reasons rather than sees things through superstition or religiosity, although he does hold faith in God all the same. While the characters speech is not likely very authentic, and some of their behavior seems modern, I liked the setting of story and casting of a monk as detective. The ending was not very surprising in so much as whodunit (which is fairly obvious) but in how Brother Cadfael and his accomplices catch the murderer and working everything out to their advantage. ( )

An entertaining mystery with a good plot and characters. I would like it better if Cadfael was actually a faithful Catholic instead of a moral relativist. ( )

The first in the Brother Cadfael series.

We're in 12th century England near the Welsh border at Shrewbury, the site of the Benedictine Abbey of Sts. Peter and Paul. Brother Cadfael at 57 has had his share of worldly adventures as part of the First Crusade fighting in the Holy land; he has also had his share of experiences with women, which he remembers with affection. For the past 15 years, he has been a contented member of the Benedictine community, his major responsibility being the abbey garden, especially the medicinal herbs.

No organization is immune from politics and its ambitious practitioners, least of all the Catholic Church. The prior of Shrewsbury Abbey, Prior Robert, is a descendant of the Norman conquerors, and while he may have given up lordship over a secular domain, he definitely aspires to rise to the top within the Church. Thus he chafes under the galling lack of a saint's relics at the abbey, diminishing the abbey's (and therefore his) reputation. Prior Robert launches a campaign to transfer the bones of St. Winifred, a little-known virgin Welsh saint from their resting place in Wales to Sts. Peter and Paul.

The Welsh community is NOT amused, and the opposition is led by a prominent Welsh landowner who is soon found murdered.

The plot is excellent, given the era in which the story is set. Peters draws the characters--all of them, including the haughty Prior Robert--with great affection. She has a wonderful ability to put us right in the time and the location.

The climax of the story is very well done and Brother Cadfael's solution to the resulting problem a stroke of genius; the humor and irony are exquisite.

It may be a murder mystery, but Peters writes with great gentleness, humor, and fondness for the period. Brother Cadfael is one of the most endearing "detectives" of the genre.

Highly recommended. ( )

A man is stuck down by an arrow and people take it as a sign that a saint is angry. Brother Cadfael knows this to be the work of a mortal, a work of hate rather than heavenly vengeance.
I love the book. There is a bit of humor in Cadfael. Medeival life has more to it than blunt killings and crude farm works. The human mind is as complex in murdering as the present day criminals. ( )

A favorite, this gives a lot of explanation of Cadfael's faith and truth vs. religiosity. ( )

www.audible.com ( )

This is the 1st Cadfael I've read (as well as the 1st in the series) and it was an enjoyable read. It was a nice easy who-dun-it and I plan to read all the rest of them as well. The PBS Cadfael specials first pointed me in this direction.
Cadfael goes with a group of his brother monks to bring back the relics of Saint Winifred from a reluctant parish and during the course of things a murder occurs of the chief holdout. Problems abound and Cadfael tries to find a solution and to make everyone satisfied. ( )

Good writing, good characters, decent mystery. Kinda slow, it could have ended at about 17 places in the last 2 chapters but it just kept going. ( )

The first Cadfael story, and I have a sneaking suspicion I saw the tv version first. Cadfael is sent with some other monks to recover the body of a saint to enhance the Benedectine Monastery of Shrewsbury. The people where the saint is don't really want to release her and when one of the villagers is found dead suspicion is thrown on the monks, Cadfael has to investigate.
The Carlton Video starring Derek Jacobi follows the book quite well. ( )

A decent period detective story, very English style, so to speak. You have an avuncular, likable, main character, who is sharper than he appears to those around him, and uses that to his advantage. A bit Middle English Midsomer Murders, almost, you could say, but that sort of style.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2006/12... ( )