Dead Man's Ransom

Ahh, you can't beat a good Cadfael book. It's all here; crime, passion, guilt, justice and mercy. Cadfael here gets involved in an exchange of prisoners that goes wrong when one, the wounded Sheriff of Shropshire, dies before the exchange can be completed. The other party to the exchange proves to be a young welshman who has fallen for the sheriff's daughter (and she for him). When the sheriff is found dead, the young man is accused of his murder, and the remainder of the book is spent sorting out the unhappy tangle they all find themselves in. Aided and abetted by the former Avice of Thornbury (one of Peters' really believable characters getting a well deserved second outing) this has one of those solutions where it's the right show more solution, not necessarily the lawful solution. But Hugh is elsewhere and accepts the fait accompli. There are times when Welsh law does seem a lot more sensible than the English equivalent. show less

When I was younger my mother got me hooked on the Masterpiece Theater Cadfael Mysteries. We watched the crud out of them and they hold such a soft place in my heart now that my mom has passed. I am slowly trying to work my way through the whole series (not in any order). The audiobook is good, but I do wish Derek Jacobi was narrating it. This series is about a Benedictine monk who solves murders in the 12th century. Dead Man's Ransom is about a sheriff who arrives ill but alive, in a ransom transfer. He is soon found dead and no one is above suspicion. The trade is off until they can find out who killed the sheriff. Even though it's a murder mystery it's like a warm cozy read. Loved it.

This was a typical Brother Cadfael mystery; very nearly quit out of sheer boredom. The end had a couple of delightful twists which redeemed it for me. Magdalene character was new to me--she added a fresh and sassy air to the plodding brother.

When sheriff Gilbert Prescott is captured during the battle of Lincoln, Hugh Beringar arranges for an exchange of prisoners. Before the exchange is complete, one of the prisoners dies. Although he was wounded, his battle wounds were not considered fatal, and his death came as a surprise. Brother Cadfael examines the dead man's body and discovers evidence of murder. The circumstances seem to leave little hope for the much-desired reconciliation or for two pairs of young lovers kept apart by the tragic circumstances.

I was afraid I knew where the story was heading, but I was wrong. I didn't see the end coming, and it was better than the ending I had imagined for the book. I was pleased by the appearance of one of my favorite characters in show more The Leper of St. Giles, the best of all the Cadfael books I've read so far. The book does have an uncharacteristic flaw. Fairly early in the book Peters introduces a character with a potential motive for murder, but then doesn't follow up on the character or the motive. I kept waiting for him to reappear but he didn't. I listened to this one in audio, so I might have been confused by unfamiliar names that sounded similar. show less

Atmospheric as always, Dead Man's Ransom is a worthy entry in the Cadfael canon. Set against the backdrop of a raid by Welsh warlords, the book begins with some military and political intrigue more reminiscent of earlier volumes in the series (such as One Corpse Too Many. The mystery unravels after a slow but enjoyable start, with many possible suspects. Highly recommended.

After a battle up north ends in King Stephen's imprisonment & the disappearance of the town's Sheriff, rumors fly that the Sheriff is still alive but the abbey has no bargaining chip until a foolish noble gets caught attempting to break into a nunnery. The Welsh family agrees to the exchange except that the Sheriff ends up dead in the Abbey's infirmary after the exchange. Cadfael knows there are more than 2 suspects & only one of them carried out the crime. Will Cadfael get to the killer before the bandits return to wipe out the nunnery?

This is an awesome installment of the Brother Caedfael novels! Not only is the writing as compelling as ever, the characters are well written, complex, and engaging, and the plot is both fascinating, consistent, but very surprising. There was more than one twist that completely surprised me, but worked perfectly. I highly recommend this book!