The Heretic's Apprentice

Six-word review: Priceless treasure kindles romance, precipitates murder.

Extended review:

In the sixteenth chronicle of Brother Cadfael, our favorite twelfth-century monastic gumshoe yields the foreground to the inevitable thwarted young couple. Perhaps shifting the focus away from her series character refreshed the author's enthusiasm for her task; I'd call this one of the better episodes, and definitely one of the best of the later ones, which had lately seemed to give off a faint whiff of staleness while becoming a bit too predictable.

In any event, Cadfael seems to yield the spotlight graciously, while the well-matched pair of lovers takes center stage. The clever deductions and the setting of the final trap fall to them, and they show more carry off their parts with spirit.

At the same time, the author gets in a full complement of asides on various religious, political, and social topics together with plenty of time-and-place atmosphere and well-researched detail. I thought the information about the making of parchment and fine books was interesting and well integrated into the story.

God bless cozy mysteries, an antidote to many an ill. show less

I’m trying to speed my through to the end of my guilty pleasure, the Brother Cadfael series. This story is interesting in that it addresses the concepts of Christian belief and how the official dogma of the church could be challenged by a thoughtful believer. It does this amidst the context of the usual Cadfael memes of young love and far too much murder and misery for one medieval family in the shire to have to face. Still it was enjoyable read and among the better of the series.

I would venture that this is the most theological of Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael series as we learn of some early disputations on the thorny issues of predestination vs free will, the fate of unbaptized babies, the nature of the trinity and the doctrine of grace vs good works as a means of salvation. We have Elave, a young man from the town of Shrewsbury who is back home from accompanying his now dead master on a pilgrimage to Palestine. During this seven year adventure, the master shares with his young companion his thoughts on these contentious issues many of which were at odds with orthodox Catholic doctrine. Elave, with more spunk than wisdom, gives vent to his theological doubts and ends up in custody to be tried as a heretic. show more The murder of a family member further complicates his case but brings Brother Cadfael from the Abbey with his array of detection skills into the picture. Cadfael, along with the competent sheriff of the shire, Hugh Beringer, untangles the unhappy basis for heretical accusations and murder. The rigidity of the writings of St. Augustine and early church doctrine divides theologian and lay alike into two camps. Cadfael's position represents the more moderate view, "Nor could he accept that the number of those predestined to salvation was fixed, limited and immutable, as Augustine proclaimed, nor indeed that the fate of any man was sealed and hopeless from his birth, or why not throw away all regard for others and rob and murder and lay waste, and indulge every anarchic appetite in this world, having nothing beyond to look forward to?" The other side professed that Catholic doctrine must not give an inch and be vigorously defended to keep the church from sure fragmentation. All of this anguished wrangling transpires within the rhythm of medieval life in town and Abbey so well described by an author who is a master of character development and medieval culture. A gentle love story threads its way through the violence and bitterness to give the expected and welcome mellow ending. show less

A companion of a dead man has come home from the Middle East to request burial for the nobleman at the abbey. After he visits his old haunts, a jealous man accuses him of heresy. When the accuser ends up dead, everyone suspects the companion but Cadfael suspects someone else. As he searches, he discovers a priceless treasure meant for the church has disappeared. Cadfael searches for the treasure box, believing that the killer has already killed once & would kill again to protect the object.

After watching the Brother Cadfael series on Netflix, I checked out a few of the books from my local library, and became an instant Ellis Peters fan. What beautiful writing! Her sentence structures release meaning with perfect timing; the rhythm of their details produces real feeling. I don't care if I can guess the solution to the mystery; these are worth reading just for the pleasure of reading.

The cover calls this a medieval whodunnit, and that's what it is - a delightful blend of historical setting, believable characters and a mystery to solve.

In The heretic's apprentice, Elave brings the body William of Lythwood, his master, who has died while making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He also brings a dowry for a young grand-niece. Elave is accused of having heretic opinions as did his master. Accusations are made by a clerk who is then found murdered. So is Elave a murderer? Cadfael needs to use his detective skills to find the murderer before any more are committed.

Ellis Peters has always used morality and justice in her Cadfael books, but, to the good brother, only God is the judge of human actions. Here the author discusses infant baptism and original sin as well as predestination and works versus deeds. There is the official church position and there is God's position and show more they may be widely separated. An interesting look into the theological world of the 12th century. show less