The Confession of Brother Haluin

Six-word review: Improbable tale charms indulgent series fan.

Extended review: It's not hard to picture the author chuckling quietly to herself as she pieced together the fifteenth chronicle of a medieval monk whose monastic life seems to be as riddled with episodes of violent death as if he were a spiritual ancestor of Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher. The first book of the series takes place in the spring of the year 1137, and this one begins in December of 1142. That's an average of nearly three dastardly crimes per year within the reach of the quiet, well-run abbey in Shrewsbury, all of which depend somehow on Brother Cadfael for their solution and the invocation of justice.

So it's no wonder that by now the author has ventured rather show more far into the realm of unlikelihood, albeit with the usual complement of concealed identities, long-hidden sins, thwarted romances, and complicated family relationships.

However, if we've stayed with the series this long, we love Brother Cadfael, and we're just happy to watch him going about his business, doing what he does best, which on most days is growing and tending his herb garden, preparing remedies, and offering wise counsel to those who seek it, and on surprisingly frequent occasions is investigating crimes and exposing culprits.

In this installment, it doesn't even matter that Cadfael has almost no detecting to do. His main function is to serve as a go-between and catalyst while the dramas of others play out. That's enough. I got what I came for. show less

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 show more 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. show less

This is a perfectly serviceable whodunnit. It's slightly overwritten and repetitive, even though it's pleasingly short and sharp. There's not really a great deal of actual mystery or suspense in the plot—you can see the major moves coming a mile off. The writing is more clever than it first appears: there's a (surely deliberate) archaism to the prose, which subtly cues you in to thinking in olde worlde terms without having everyone be like "forsooth my liege, verily" etc.

All in all reading this (and I assume the other Cadfaels) is a fine way to kill two or three hours if you happen to have one to hand, but nobody is going to be rediscovering these as lost classics in 50 years time.

Brother Haluin makes a deathbed confession but doesn't die. He wants to make some reparation, but sets off an unexpected series of events.

One of her best, not so much because of the mystery, the answer to which was pretty obvious, but because of the atmosphere and the characters, especially the formidable dowager, Adelais.

Satisfying entry in the Cadfael series, about a fellow monk with a secret, and a need to atone for it. I guessed the solution to the mystery, but it was still "good fun".

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Title: The Confession of Brother Haluin
Series: Brother Cadfael #15
Author: Ellis Peters
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 208
Format: Digital Edition



Synopsis:

Brother Haluin almost dies and confesses to the head Priest and Cadfael. He had an encounter of the flesh with a young woman, who he got with child 18 years ago. Haluin gave the mother herbs from Cadfael's herbariam to end the pregnancy but the mother told Haluin that it ended up show more killing the mother along with the child. And that was when Haluin entered the abbey, in despair.
He ends up surviving his ordeal, he gives himself the penance of walking to the dead woman's tomb and keeping vigil for a night. Haluin's feet being crippled due to the ordeal, Cadfael is tasked with helping him keep his vow.
In a string of coincidences that can only happen in a murder mystery, we find out that Haluin was lied to by the mother and that the young woman was married off and the child raised as that other man's. Said young woman is now a nun as old as Haluin. Their daughter has love issues all of her own which are neatly resolved when it is revealed that she is NOT the blood daughter of the Old Duke. An old lady servant is killed by the nun's mother to keep everything secret. Because the old mother did all of this because she wanted the young man back in the day and he wouldn't commit adultery with her, as she was married. So she starts this whole chain of events.
Everyone except the old mother ends up being reasonably satisfied with how things turn out and Brother Haluin and Cadfael return to their abbey.

My Thoughts:

This was a typical Brother Cadfael mystery. He's just an observer like he has been in the last several and has very little to do with the actual story. So that's where I'd normally give this a 3star rating. But this time around a lot of the story is driven by ideas of absolution and atoning for you own sins, ie, working to get your sins forgiven. Haluin makes it a point that if he can't fulfill his vow, he won't be forgiven. And it is stated outright that he doesn't feel like he'll be forgiven if he doesn't DO some sort of very hard penance.

Normally the catholic practices and theology are kept in the background of these books. This time around though, they played a much bigger part and cut right across everything the Bible actually says about forgiveness of sins. When I hear about earning forgiveness for your sins, well, that just sets my staunch Protestant soul ablaze. I won't go into the details, as this is not a theology post. But it really took this book down a peg for me. I've actually been surprised this hasn't happened before.

I've got 5 or 6 more Brother Cadfael books to go and I'm really hoping I can stick it out to the end. But to be honest, these are getting boring; that's almost as bad as un-Biblical theology in my mind!

★★☆☆ ½ show less

Summary: From deathbed confession to arduous journey, Brother Haluin’s miraculous recovery results in a journey of penance accompanied by Cadfael.

In mid-December of 1142, heavy snows wrought heavy damage to the tile roof of the guest hall. Rather than risk worse damage by waiting until warmer weather, crews of monks climbed the treacherous roof to remove snow and make repairs. One of these, Brother Haluin, got caught in an avalanche of snow and tiles. Severely injured by a forty foot fall, with his feet and ankles a shredded mess from the tiles, No one expects him to live.

Brother Cadfael does his best. But the brother, sensing death near, calls for the abbot. And he confesses the terrible sin that drove him to monastic vows. Not only show more that, he betrayed Cadfael’s trust. His love for a girl resulted in pregnancy. Then he used Cadfael’s pharmacy to give the mother a compound to abort the girl. Sadly, he learns the girl and her child died in the process.

Contrary to all expectations, Brother Haluin recovers. But the fall irreparably crippled him. On his deathbed, he vowed to take a journey of penance. He would confess his sin to the mother and then pray a night vigil at the tomb of the girl, Bertrade. All attempts to dissuade him cannot stand against his vow. Abbot Radulfus assigns Brother Cadfael to accompany him.

To begin with, the journey to Lady de Clary’s takes several days. After the initial shock of encountering her daughter’s former lover, she absolves him of his sins. But she shares difficult news. Bertrade is not buried there but in Elford, in the family tomb, a much further journey. And so Cadfael and the crippled man, refusing mounts, must make their way. They observe Lady de Clary and two of her men ride ahead. They arrive in Elford, where Lady de Clary’s son lives. While afforded hospitality, it is clear they want the brothers to fulfill their errand. And so, Brother Haluin fulfills his vow and prays at the tomb through the night.

A young man, Roscelin, slips in and helps Haluin, stiff from his nights labors. Roscelin is serving Audemar, the lady’s son, sent away inexplicably, by his father Cenred. A snowstorm forces the brothers to stay at Vivers, Cenred’s manor. Haluin, who is an ordained priest, is asked to officiate a wedding. Cenred’s sister’s daughter Helisende is to marry a young landowner. But this does not sit well with Edgytha, a governess to both Roscelin and Helisende. She witnessed their growing love, forbidden by their close relationship. This is why Roscelin was sent away and is not present.

Then Edgytha disappears on an errand in the snow and does not return. Cadfael, among the searchers, finds her body on the road back to Elford. An assailant stabbed her and the snow beneath her suggests she was on her way back from Elford. Then Helisende disappears. With the wedding off, the brothers continue home, only to make a series of discoveries that explains the murder of Edgytha and changes the lives of Haluin, Roscelin, and Helisende.

This was a very different Cadfael. The murder occurs late in the story, which takes pace far from Shrewbury. In some ways, the murder was incidental to the story. Unlike most of the stories, there is little interaction between Hugh and Cadfael. Instead, Cadfael is the wise friend helping Haluin find peace. While incidental to the plot, the exercise of hospitality runs through the story. Through it all, Peters explores the question of finding forgiveness for grievous sin, far more crippling to Haluin than his physical injuries. show less