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Fiction. Mystery. HTML: In the Summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England. The armies of King Stephen and Empress Maud, the two royal cousins contending for the throne, have temporarily exhausted other. On the whole, Brother Cadfael considers peace a blessing. Still a little excitement never comes amiss to a former soldier, and Cadfael is delighted to accompany his young friend, Brother Mark, on a mission of church diplomacy to his native Wales. But shortly after their arrival, the two monks are caught up in yet another royal feud. The Welsh prince Owain Gwynedd has banished his brother Cadwaladi, accusing him of the treacherous murder of an ally. The reckless Cadwaladi has retaliated by landing an army of Danish mercenaries, poised to invade Wales and retake his lost lands. As the two armies teeter on the brink of bloody civil war, Cadfael is captured by the Danes. His fellow prisoner is a headstrong young woman fleeing an arranged marriage-or perhaps her involvement in a murder at Owain's camp. But before Cadfael can untangle the passions that led to one death, he has to survive the brotherly quarrel that could plunge an entire kingdom into deadly chaos..… (more)
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The murder is almost incidental to the politics and the Vikings who are involved in the politics but
Brother Cadfael's Trip to the Beach
The Summer of the Danes: Sleeping My Way Through Copenhagen and Other Life Experiences
I! Think! I! Love! You! But What Am I So Afraid Of?
I'm On A Boat, Bitch! And So Are All These Other Vikings
Through 17 earlier adventurers we have warmed to Brother Cadfael and seen that his keen mind and his ability to be a deep study of human nature leads him to uncover man's basest nature, that of the murderer. Here in this novel we see that Cadfael still is an observer of humanity and history, but his skill set in solving crime is unneeded. Prince Owain and his brother Cadwaladr have a falling out. Cadwaladr is banished, in order to get back to his lands, he hires Dane raiders from Dublin, hence the title.
Cadfael happens to be deep in Wales and far from Shrewsbury as a translator for his old protege, Brother Mark and immediately he is caught up on the edge of events. But the body and the murder have little to do with the Danes and the two princely brothers. Indeed at the end of the book, Peters just conveniently resolves it. What happened to the smart Cadfael who allowed me to read alongside his discoveries to solve the mystery too?
Extended review:
Brother Cadfael is even more of a bystander in this episode than he has been in other recent installments in the series. I can't even say that his role is to bear witness, much less advise, because far too great a
What's more, the mystery, to the extent that there is any, is so peripheral to the story that by the time the culprit is revealed, it's pretty much a matter of indifference.
Yet for all that, this is a Cadfael novel, and it has the delectable language, the atmosphere, and the vivid historicity that characterize the series. If our favorite twelfth-century monastic detective hasn't very much to do, that's all right. It's fine just to be in his company.
And what this eighteenth chronicle does have is the drama of contending brother princes, clashing warriors, marauding invaders, ambitious clerics, and a runaway bride. In the hands of a confident and accomplished author, the depiction of secular and ecclesiastical conflict and diplomacy in medieval Wales comes to life. Ties of blood and fealty work opposition between a pair of Welsh nobles and their followers, while a band of seagoing Danish mercenaries from Ireland show their code of honor as well as their raider skills. Loyalty and allegiance, deception and betrayal play out under Cadfael's observant eye. Despite peril and captivity, it's clear that the good Benedictine, once a man of arms and action himself, enjoys being a spectator close to the fray.
The action takes place mostly in Wales and a map is provided to help with the details. I found that this was not as good as the other Cadfael Chronicles, but the lovers do prevail in the end as always!