The Confession of Brother Haluin (1988)

THE CONFESSION OF BROTHER HALUIN is the fifteenth instalment in Ellis Peters' Cadfael series.

In the severe winter of 1142, the roof of the Abbey collapses under the weight of the heavy snowfall. One of the monks assigned to the task of repairing the roof is Brother Haluin. He falls from the roof and crashes to the ground, unconscious and badly hurt. Cadfael nurses him through the first night. Fearing he will not recover, Haluin makes a sickbed confession to Cadfael and Abbot Radulfus. He tells of a burden of guilt, carried since his youth, over a love affair that ended badly. Believing that his survival is a sign to make restitution, Brother Haluin receives Abbot Radolfus' blessing for pilgrimage of penance to his old home. Because Cadfael is privy to the confession, he is enlisted to aid Brother Haluin in his journey.

When they arrive at their destination, they find that things are not all as they seem, and that another tragedy is in the offing. Then a murder occurs. Cadfael unravels the mystery, the sinner atones insofar as possible, and Haluin finds peace.

THE CONFESSION OF BROTHER HALUIN is an involved but absorbing plot which is sorted out by Cadfael in his inimical style. What makes this and the other Cadfael tales enjoyable is the charming, unhurried way in which Peters tells the tale. ( )

Brother Cadfael mysteries are good for rainy days when one's brain just can't think any longer and escape, escape, escape is all one wants to do! This particular one is a rather slim volume, but still, it was as expected. No spoiler alerts for this review (unlike some of the ones that follow), but I will say that although I guessed the answer to the main mystery early, early on, I was puzzled as to the motive for it. But all is revealed in the end....

This plot gives us a glimpse into the life of a Benedictine convent, and of how these beautiful stone convents and monasteries were constructed. Just a glimpse, but still interesting. ( )

In this the 15th Brother Cadfael Chronicle, we watch unfold the unhappy consequences of long distant, long hidden deception. The author gives us an important lesson in the sorrows brought about by suppressing devious actions of the past which can only be rectified by the sometimes painful process of revealing truth. Brother Cadfael, the medieval monk of Shrewsbury Abbey reflects, "Truth can be costly, but in the end it never falls short of value for the price paid." The tangled tale begins with the inexplicable rejection of a suitable husband for a daughter and proceeds to the burdening of the young suitor with false guilt driving him into the cowl at the Benedictine Abbey of Shrewsbury with a heaviness that now 18 years later is still consuming him. Brother Cadfael, resident herbalist and amateur sleuth of the Abbey, is the partner in the redemption of this young monk as they make pilgrimage together to the tomb of his long lost beloved and to the revelation of painful occurences of the dark past. Ellis Peters can not only tell a good tale, but she also has a remarkable insight into human nature--the motives that drive us and the consequences of our unfortunate choices. ( )

Another enjoyable mystery that isn't too mysterious early on, but still a great diversion. These stories never fail to please. Unfortunately, I am starting to run low on unread Brother Cadfael books. ( )

When you can see some of what is coming at you for pages in a mystery, then it is not doing what it should be doing. This is the problem I found with The Confession of Brother Haluin. Previously when Peters has sent Hugh Beringar to court then we have court intrigue find its way to Shrewbury.

This time, we do not. We find very little in the way of additional detail about Saint Peter and St. Paul's though we do hear about the brothers who work in the scriptorium as that is where Haluin has found his skills to be valued.

As we delve into the story, we see so much earlier than Cadfael what is taking place, that it leaves me wondering why the story was even written. Then the body. All good mysteries are murder mysteries and so there must be a body.

But we don't get to the body for such a long time, and by then we know the heart of the mystery so the motive for there being a body is too evident.

The reason to read the story is to pass time and keep up with the rest of the series. ( )