What do you think?
Rate this book
Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #7-9
The Third Cadfael Omnibus: The Sanctuary Sparrow / The Devil's Novice / Dead Man's Ransom
"The Sanctuary Sparrow", "The Devil's Novice" and "Dead Man's Ransom" are featured in this volume.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
About the author
Ellis Peters
189 books1,182 followersA pseudonym used by Edith Pargeter.
Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM was a prolific author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern. Born in the village of Horsehay (Shropshire, England), she had Welsh ancestry, and many of her short stories and books (both fictional and non-fictional) were set in Wales and its borderlands.
During World War II, she worked in an administrative role in the Women's Royal Naval Service, and received the British Empire Medal - BEM.
Pargeter wrote under a number of pseudonyms; it was under the name Ellis Peters that she wrote the highly popular series of Brother Cadfael medieval mysteries, many of which were made into films for television.
Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM was a prolific author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern. Born in the village of Horsehay (Shropshire, England), she had Welsh ancestry, and many of her short stories and books (both fictional and non-fictional) were set in Wales and its borderlands.
During World War II, she worked in an administrative role in the Women's Royal Naval Service, and received the British Empire Medal - BEM.
Pargeter wrote under a number of pseudonyms; it was under the name Ellis Peters that she wrote the highly popular series of Brother Cadfael medieval mysteries, many of which were made into films for television.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 12, 2026
The Brother Cadfael omnibuses (of which there are seven and that The Third Cadfael Omnibus contains The Sanctuary Sparrow, The Devil's Novice and Dead Man's Ransom totally unabridged) are large format but more than decently portable. And yes, these compilations, they are set up in a nicely user-friendly manner (readable, with a decently sized font and a colour contrast that makes perusal a total reading pleasure and never a strain on my ageing eyes). Warmly and most highly recommended, and for me, reading (and also often rereading Ellis wonderful Brother Cadfael stories in these omnibuses), this totally makes me hugely smile.
THE SANCTUARY SPARROW
I do very much and firmly believe that I can certainly claim and point out with I think more than adequate truth and personal confidence that the absolute best parts of Ellis Peters' utterly delightful Brother Cadfael series of Mediaeval mysteries are generally and usually both Peters' spot-on and historically accurate sense of historical time and geographic place (how she makes Mediaeval 12th century England come both realistically and imaginatively, spectacularly to life) and equally so how Ellis Peters also manages to present historical mysteries which might include mayhem, murder, revenge, nastiness and the like but consistently in a textual manner where albeit the stories are always more than sufficiently descriptive and detailed, Peters' Brother Cadfael stories are (and happily so for me personally) never overtly, exaggeratedly horribly or gratuitously violently depicted, presented and told (not to mention that often if not even generally so in the Brother Cadfael series, the mysteries, the necessary whodunnit aspects thereof in fact and appreciatively so seem to come a trifle secondary to the day to day happenings of Shrewsbury and Brother Cadfael's home abbey of Saint Peter and Paul, and which I for one absolutely and hugely appreciate and majorly enjoy, and furthermore, how the English history parts Ellis Peters provides in and with her Brother Cadfael mysteries, these are superbly authentic, these are realistic and as such solid historical fiction and not annoyingly fantastical).
With the sixth Brother Cadfael novel, with her 1983 The Sanctuary Sparrow (and which is also one of the first series novels I ever read, in 1984, when I was eighteen years old and really into Mediaeval mysteries) Peters in my humble opinion and aside from superb sense of historical time and geographic place (see above) gets all of the elements for a good and also for a cozy mystery wonderfully and utterly right. Thus in The Sanctuary Sparrow, Ellis Peters with textual delightfulness features an accused of murder and of robbery for whom we are totally rooting and whom we from square one so to speak absolutely know and feel to be completely, wholly innocent as well (and that the murder of which Liliwin is accused is not even a murder anyhow since it turns out that patriarch and "victim" Walter Aurifaber is only injured and nor in fact deceased). There exist and is presented by Peters in The Sanctuary Sparrow an array of possible suspects surrounding and involved with the toxically dysfunctional household of Aurifaber, there is a sweet budding love story (between itinerant jongleur Liliwin and the maid Rannilt) that we absolutely do not want to see interrupted and destroyed by a death sentence.
And equally as well as importantly so, The Sanctuary Sparrow features a villain who turns out to be someone whom Ellis Peters describes with much understanding as well as with total kindness and also depicts as someone having more than legitimate and justifiable family caused anger issues and whose violence (and also whose death) is actually and completely shown as being first and foremost the fault of their family, of their father and of their enabling and pathetic grandmother (and that the actually murder in The Sanctuary Sparrow, that Baldwin Peche's death, while bien sûr not excusable, is also something he totally brought onto himself, not to mention that I would indeed even be kind of cheering for the villain in The Sanctuary Sparrow if they had not tried to shove Liliwin and Rannilt into harm's way). But indeed, behind everything of course, Peters with and throughout The Sanctuary Sparrow depicts and textually celebrates the wise and not ever too annoying evangelical and harshly judgmental ecclesiastical spirituality of the abbey of Saint Peter and Paul in Shrewsbury (except for Prior Robert and Brother Jerome that is and of course) and the ever maturing and nurturing friendship between Brother Cadfael and Hugh Beringar (and yes, that the in-depth analysis and description of the legal and religious tradition of sanctuary in which grants a forty-day grace period of safety as long as the accused stays within the abbey grounds is also meticulously and engagingly described by Ellis Peters, this makes me totally smile and I love love love the educational information provided by Peters in The Sanctuary Sparrow and indeed in ALL of the Brother Cadfael novels).
Five stars for The Sanctuary Sparrow, and no, that there is in The Sanctuary Sparrow not really any textual mention of the Civil War between King Stephen and the Empress Maud is actually for me something entirely and massively positive. For yes, we still in The Sanctuary Sparrow more than well realise in the background so to speak that times are volatile etc. and that it (and appreciatively so) makes total sense for Ellis Peters to show and to tell in The Sanctuary Sparrow how daily life does go on, that family squabbles and dysfunction arise, that marriage contracts are forged, how murder and mayhem can and does occur, that not EVERYTHING has to and needs to revolve around the monarchy and around the two royal cousins duking it out so to speak. And just to say in closing that The Sanctuary Sparrow is actually not only one of my absolute favourite Brother Cadfael mysteries, it is also one of the very few series novels I have found very nicely done and conceptualised in the PBS miniseries (since the vast majority of the episodes just seem to annoy me, but that the episode for The Sanctuary Sparrow is absolutely superb and also totally and successfully reflects as well as celebrates Ellis Peters' text).
THE DEVIL'S NOVICE
I do very much and firmly believe that I can certainly claim and point out with I think more than adequate truth and personal confidence that the absolute best parts of Ellis Peters' utterly delightful Brother Cadfael series of Mediaeval mysteries are generally and usually both Peters' spot-on and historically accurate sense of historical time and geographic place (how she makes Mediaeval 12th century England come both realistically and imaginatively, spectacularly to life) and equally so how Ellis Peters also manages to present historical mysteries which might include mayhem, murder, revenge, nastiness and the like but consistently in a textual manner where albeit the stories are always more than sufficiently descriptive and detailed, Peters' Brother Cadfael stories are (and happily so for me personally) never overtly, exaggeratedly horribly or gratuitously violently depicted, presented and told, not to mention that often if not even generally so in the Brother Cadfael series, the mysteries, the necessary whodunnit aspects thereof in fact and appreciatively so seem to come a trifle secondary to the day to day happenings of Shrewsbury and Brother Cadfael's home abbey of Saint Peter and Paul, and which I for one absolutely and hugely appreciate and majorly enjoy, and furthermore, how the English history parts Ellis Peters provides in and with her Brother Cadfael mysteries, these are superbly authentic, these are realistic and as such solid historical fiction and not annoyingly fantastical (but I must say regarding the eighth Brother Cadfael novel, regarding Peters' 1983 The Devil's Novice, yes, I do find it massively annoying and hugely infuriatingly historically inaccurate how murder victim Peter Clemence's horse Barbary is called a Thoroughbred by Peters when there in fact were no Thoroughbreds as a breed in England until the 17th century at the earliest and absolutely and certainly NOT in the Middle Ages).
Now The Devil's Novice has still been an adequately enjoyable Brother Cadfael reading experience for me (and in particular since aside from my above mentioned issue with Ellis Peters wrongly considering Barbary as being a Thoroughbred, her sense of time and place in and throughout The Devil's Novice is still all-round excellent and historically accurate). However, I equally so cannot and do not even want to pretend that the equine breed history error of The Devil's Novice does not really and truly bother me (since I am keen and have always been keen on British horse breeds and their histories) and that this textual faux pas by Peters combined with some other more minor but still grating bones of textual contention do make The Devil's Novice one of my least favourite series novels thus far and as such also only rated with but two stars. A trifle harsh, perhaps, but considering that the other Brother Cadfael novels which I have to date rated with three stars have still been quite majorly pleasurable, sorry, but I simply cannot and will not consider The Devil's Novice a three star perusal since I have in fact not all that much enjoyed Ellis Peters' text, her story for The Devil's Novice contents wise.
For while I find the slow pacing of The Devil's Novice nicely enjoyable and would not be wanting something more fast paced and full of exaggerated violence and excitement either (and which some reviewers seem to have not liked about The Devil's Novice and even about Peters as an author), sorry, but for me, the entire mystery of Peter Clemence's death is definitely textually frustrating at best (and also needing me to somewhat suspend my belief). For yes, I do not think it is really ever adequately shown and explained in The Devil's Novice exactly why Clemence was killed, why he had to die, how unlike the other Cadfael whodunits I have read to date, Peter Clemence seems to be just some random murder victim to be used as a necessary whodunnit plot device by Ellis Peters. Not to mention Meriet Aspley being accused of murder in The Devil's Novice (and confessing to Hugh Beringar and Brother Cadfael in order to cover up his brother Nigel's assumed guilt but refusing to actually confess to a priest), this is so obviously a total mistake and a huge miscarriage of justice from square one of The Devil's Novice so to speak, this is so textually on the surface and lacking depth that I can only shake my head with and in consternation. And yes, Meriet's totally obvious and even massively heavy-handed innocence in The Devil's Novice combined with Peters also making both Nigel Aspley and even more so chief villain and the actual murderer of Peter Clememnce Janyn Linde into totally stereotypical cardboard thin baddies, this makes much of what Ellis Peters textually provides in and with The Devil's Novice tedious and majorly uninteresting for and to me (and that my two star rating for The Devil's Novice is actually also pretty generous since for ANY other historical mystery author I would most likely be much more critical and I would be considering only a one star rating).
DEAD MAN'S RANSOM
I do very much and firmly believe that I can certainly claim and point out with I think more than adequate truth and personal confidence that the absolute best parts of Ellis Peters' utterly delightful Brother Cadfael series of Mediaeval mysteries are generally and usually both Peters' spot-on and historically accurate sense of historical time and geographic place (how she makes Mediaeval 12th century England come both realistically and imaginatively, spectacularly to life) and equally so how Ellis Peters also manages to present historical mysteries which might include mayhem, murder, revenge, nastiness and the like but consistently in a textual manner where albeit the stories are always more than sufficiently descriptive and detailed, Peters' Brother Cadfael stories are (and happily so for me personally) never overtly, exaggeratedly horribly or gratuitously violently depicted, presented and told, not to mention that often if not even generally so in the Brother Cadfael series, the mysteries, the necessary whodunnit aspects thereof in fact and appreciatively so seem to come a trifle secondary to the day to day happenings of Shrewsbury and Brother Cadfael's home abbey of Saint Peter and Paul, and which I for one absolutely and hugely appreciate and majorly enjoy, and furthermore, how the English history parts Ellis Peters provides in and with her Brother Cadfael mysteries, these are superbly authentic, these are realistic and as such solid historical fiction and not annoyingly fantastical.
And while some readers seem to consider Peters' heavy-duty history lesson like beginning for her 1984 Dead Man's Ransom (for the ninth of the Brother Cadfael novels) something negative and something to criticise (basically being too much information-dropping so to speak), I for one in fact hugely appreciate this, with me actually finding the beginning of Dead Man's Ransom and its solidly detailed historicity both supremely interesting as well as massively educational and as such also the part of Dead Man's Ransom I have enjoyed the most, since the murder of Sheriff Gilbert Prescott in Dead Man's Ransom, discovering whodunit, the Romeo and Juliet like romance of Elis and Milicent Prescote and in particular how Ellis Peters has Dead Man's Ransom conclude is just not all that much to my personal reading tastes (and by any stretch of my imagination).
For yes, Dead Man's Ransom (after the personally speaking absolutely delightfully enlightening historical introduction) is simply too convoluted for me, with Peters' story featuring too many characters and also too many possible murder suspects (at least three of them). And while I guess I kind of am happy that I could not easily guess how Eluid was the villain, I also and completely do most definitely consider the ending of Dead Man's Ransom rather majorly problematic. For because in Dead Man's Ransom Ellis Peters has Eliud smother Sheriff Gilbert Prestcote to death not out of battlefield necessity, self-defence or because Prescote is somehow evilly nasty, but cold-bloodedly and calculatedly to clear romantic obstacles for his foster brother Elis and equally so for himself, I honestly and indeed find it supremely grating as well as quite emotionally upsetting that both Brother Cadfael and Hugh Beringar in Dead Man's Ransom allow Eluid to completely escape a prison sentence for his deed.
Sure, Ellis Peters prioritising natural justice (aligning true love and restoring social harmony) in her Brother Cadfael novels over the harsh, punitive laws of the 12th century, which would have meant a brutal public execution for Eliud in Dead Man's Ransom is something with which I wholeheartedly agree, sorry, but no legal consequences at all for Eluid just rubs me the wrong proverbial way. So yes and indeed, while I have still more than decently enjoyed Dead Man's Ransom, Peters' ending for Dead Man's Ransom of allowing Eliud to completely escape even somewhat, even a bit of prison sentence (or some financial penalties) leaves a somewhat bitter taste for me, since I do strongly believe that mercy should temper justice and never ever completely erase it (so that my rating for Dead Man's Ransom is therefore only three stars and that said three star rating is also pretty generous of and from me).
THE SANCTUARY SPARROW
I do very much and firmly believe that I can certainly claim and point out with I think more than adequate truth and personal confidence that the absolute best parts of Ellis Peters' utterly delightful Brother Cadfael series of Mediaeval mysteries are generally and usually both Peters' spot-on and historically accurate sense of historical time and geographic place (how she makes Mediaeval 12th century England come both realistically and imaginatively, spectacularly to life) and equally so how Ellis Peters also manages to present historical mysteries which might include mayhem, murder, revenge, nastiness and the like but consistently in a textual manner where albeit the stories are always more than sufficiently descriptive and detailed, Peters' Brother Cadfael stories are (and happily so for me personally) never overtly, exaggeratedly horribly or gratuitously violently depicted, presented and told (not to mention that often if not even generally so in the Brother Cadfael series, the mysteries, the necessary whodunnit aspects thereof in fact and appreciatively so seem to come a trifle secondary to the day to day happenings of Shrewsbury and Brother Cadfael's home abbey of Saint Peter and Paul, and which I for one absolutely and hugely appreciate and majorly enjoy, and furthermore, how the English history parts Ellis Peters provides in and with her Brother Cadfael mysteries, these are superbly authentic, these are realistic and as such solid historical fiction and not annoyingly fantastical).
With the sixth Brother Cadfael novel, with her 1983 The Sanctuary Sparrow (and which is also one of the first series novels I ever read, in 1984, when I was eighteen years old and really into Mediaeval mysteries) Peters in my humble opinion and aside from superb sense of historical time and geographic place (see above) gets all of the elements for a good and also for a cozy mystery wonderfully and utterly right. Thus in The Sanctuary Sparrow, Ellis Peters with textual delightfulness features an accused of murder and of robbery for whom we are totally rooting and whom we from square one so to speak absolutely know and feel to be completely, wholly innocent as well (and that the murder of which Liliwin is accused is not even a murder anyhow since it turns out that patriarch and "victim" Walter Aurifaber is only injured and nor in fact deceased). There exist and is presented by Peters in The Sanctuary Sparrow an array of possible suspects surrounding and involved with the toxically dysfunctional household of Aurifaber, there is a sweet budding love story (between itinerant jongleur Liliwin and the maid Rannilt) that we absolutely do not want to see interrupted and destroyed by a death sentence.
And equally as well as importantly so, The Sanctuary Sparrow features a villain who turns out to be someone whom Ellis Peters describes with much understanding as well as with total kindness and also depicts as someone having more than legitimate and justifiable family caused anger issues and whose violence (and also whose death) is actually and completely shown as being first and foremost the fault of their family, of their father and of their enabling and pathetic grandmother (and that the actually murder in The Sanctuary Sparrow, that Baldwin Peche's death, while bien sûr not excusable, is also something he totally brought onto himself, not to mention that I would indeed even be kind of cheering for the villain in The Sanctuary Sparrow if they had not tried to shove Liliwin and Rannilt into harm's way). But indeed, behind everything of course, Peters with and throughout The Sanctuary Sparrow depicts and textually celebrates the wise and not ever too annoying evangelical and harshly judgmental ecclesiastical spirituality of the abbey of Saint Peter and Paul in Shrewsbury (except for Prior Robert and Brother Jerome that is and of course) and the ever maturing and nurturing friendship between Brother Cadfael and Hugh Beringar (and yes, that the in-depth analysis and description of the legal and religious tradition of sanctuary in which grants a forty-day grace period of safety as long as the accused stays within the abbey grounds is also meticulously and engagingly described by Ellis Peters, this makes me totally smile and I love love love the educational information provided by Peters in The Sanctuary Sparrow and indeed in ALL of the Brother Cadfael novels).
Five stars for The Sanctuary Sparrow, and no, that there is in The Sanctuary Sparrow not really any textual mention of the Civil War between King Stephen and the Empress Maud is actually for me something entirely and massively positive. For yes, we still in The Sanctuary Sparrow more than well realise in the background so to speak that times are volatile etc. and that it (and appreciatively so) makes total sense for Ellis Peters to show and to tell in The Sanctuary Sparrow how daily life does go on, that family squabbles and dysfunction arise, that marriage contracts are forged, how murder and mayhem can and does occur, that not EVERYTHING has to and needs to revolve around the monarchy and around the two royal cousins duking it out so to speak. And just to say in closing that The Sanctuary Sparrow is actually not only one of my absolute favourite Brother Cadfael mysteries, it is also one of the very few series novels I have found very nicely done and conceptualised in the PBS miniseries (since the vast majority of the episodes just seem to annoy me, but that the episode for The Sanctuary Sparrow is absolutely superb and also totally and successfully reflects as well as celebrates Ellis Peters' text).
THE DEVIL'S NOVICE
I do very much and firmly believe that I can certainly claim and point out with I think more than adequate truth and personal confidence that the absolute best parts of Ellis Peters' utterly delightful Brother Cadfael series of Mediaeval mysteries are generally and usually both Peters' spot-on and historically accurate sense of historical time and geographic place (how she makes Mediaeval 12th century England come both realistically and imaginatively, spectacularly to life) and equally so how Ellis Peters also manages to present historical mysteries which might include mayhem, murder, revenge, nastiness and the like but consistently in a textual manner where albeit the stories are always more than sufficiently descriptive and detailed, Peters' Brother Cadfael stories are (and happily so for me personally) never overtly, exaggeratedly horribly or gratuitously violently depicted, presented and told, not to mention that often if not even generally so in the Brother Cadfael series, the mysteries, the necessary whodunnit aspects thereof in fact and appreciatively so seem to come a trifle secondary to the day to day happenings of Shrewsbury and Brother Cadfael's home abbey of Saint Peter and Paul, and which I for one absolutely and hugely appreciate and majorly enjoy, and furthermore, how the English history parts Ellis Peters provides in and with her Brother Cadfael mysteries, these are superbly authentic, these are realistic and as such solid historical fiction and not annoyingly fantastical (but I must say regarding the eighth Brother Cadfael novel, regarding Peters' 1983 The Devil's Novice, yes, I do find it massively annoying and hugely infuriatingly historically inaccurate how murder victim Peter Clemence's horse Barbary is called a Thoroughbred by Peters when there in fact were no Thoroughbreds as a breed in England until the 17th century at the earliest and absolutely and certainly NOT in the Middle Ages).
Now The Devil's Novice has still been an adequately enjoyable Brother Cadfael reading experience for me (and in particular since aside from my above mentioned issue with Ellis Peters wrongly considering Barbary as being a Thoroughbred, her sense of time and place in and throughout The Devil's Novice is still all-round excellent and historically accurate). However, I equally so cannot and do not even want to pretend that the equine breed history error of The Devil's Novice does not really and truly bother me (since I am keen and have always been keen on British horse breeds and their histories) and that this textual faux pas by Peters combined with some other more minor but still grating bones of textual contention do make The Devil's Novice one of my least favourite series novels thus far and as such also only rated with but two stars. A trifle harsh, perhaps, but considering that the other Brother Cadfael novels which I have to date rated with three stars have still been quite majorly pleasurable, sorry, but I simply cannot and will not consider The Devil's Novice a three star perusal since I have in fact not all that much enjoyed Ellis Peters' text, her story for The Devil's Novice contents wise.
For while I find the slow pacing of The Devil's Novice nicely enjoyable and would not be wanting something more fast paced and full of exaggerated violence and excitement either (and which some reviewers seem to have not liked about The Devil's Novice and even about Peters as an author), sorry, but for me, the entire mystery of Peter Clemence's death is definitely textually frustrating at best (and also needing me to somewhat suspend my belief). For yes, I do not think it is really ever adequately shown and explained in The Devil's Novice exactly why Clemence was killed, why he had to die, how unlike the other Cadfael whodunits I have read to date, Peter Clemence seems to be just some random murder victim to be used as a necessary whodunnit plot device by Ellis Peters. Not to mention Meriet Aspley being accused of murder in The Devil's Novice (and confessing to Hugh Beringar and Brother Cadfael in order to cover up his brother Nigel's assumed guilt but refusing to actually confess to a priest), this is so obviously a total mistake and a huge miscarriage of justice from square one of The Devil's Novice so to speak, this is so textually on the surface and lacking depth that I can only shake my head with and in consternation. And yes, Meriet's totally obvious and even massively heavy-handed innocence in The Devil's Novice combined with Peters also making both Nigel Aspley and even more so chief villain and the actual murderer of Peter Clememnce Janyn Linde into totally stereotypical cardboard thin baddies, this makes much of what Ellis Peters textually provides in and with The Devil's Novice tedious and majorly uninteresting for and to me (and that my two star rating for The Devil's Novice is actually also pretty generous since for ANY other historical mystery author I would most likely be much more critical and I would be considering only a one star rating).
DEAD MAN'S RANSOM
I do very much and firmly believe that I can certainly claim and point out with I think more than adequate truth and personal confidence that the absolute best parts of Ellis Peters' utterly delightful Brother Cadfael series of Mediaeval mysteries are generally and usually both Peters' spot-on and historically accurate sense of historical time and geographic place (how she makes Mediaeval 12th century England come both realistically and imaginatively, spectacularly to life) and equally so how Ellis Peters also manages to present historical mysteries which might include mayhem, murder, revenge, nastiness and the like but consistently in a textual manner where albeit the stories are always more than sufficiently descriptive and detailed, Peters' Brother Cadfael stories are (and happily so for me personally) never overtly, exaggeratedly horribly or gratuitously violently depicted, presented and told, not to mention that often if not even generally so in the Brother Cadfael series, the mysteries, the necessary whodunnit aspects thereof in fact and appreciatively so seem to come a trifle secondary to the day to day happenings of Shrewsbury and Brother Cadfael's home abbey of Saint Peter and Paul, and which I for one absolutely and hugely appreciate and majorly enjoy, and furthermore, how the English history parts Ellis Peters provides in and with her Brother Cadfael mysteries, these are superbly authentic, these are realistic and as such solid historical fiction and not annoyingly fantastical.
And while some readers seem to consider Peters' heavy-duty history lesson like beginning for her 1984 Dead Man's Ransom (for the ninth of the Brother Cadfael novels) something negative and something to criticise (basically being too much information-dropping so to speak), I for one in fact hugely appreciate this, with me actually finding the beginning of Dead Man's Ransom and its solidly detailed historicity both supremely interesting as well as massively educational and as such also the part of Dead Man's Ransom I have enjoyed the most, since the murder of Sheriff Gilbert Prescott in Dead Man's Ransom, discovering whodunit, the Romeo and Juliet like romance of Elis and Milicent Prescote and in particular how Ellis Peters has Dead Man's Ransom conclude is just not all that much to my personal reading tastes (and by any stretch of my imagination).
For yes, Dead Man's Ransom (after the personally speaking absolutely delightfully enlightening historical introduction) is simply too convoluted for me, with Peters' story featuring too many characters and also too many possible murder suspects (at least three of them). And while I guess I kind of am happy that I could not easily guess how Eluid was the villain, I also and completely do most definitely consider the ending of Dead Man's Ransom rather majorly problematic. For because in Dead Man's Ransom Ellis Peters has Eliud smother Sheriff Gilbert Prestcote to death not out of battlefield necessity, self-defence or because Prescote is somehow evilly nasty, but cold-bloodedly and calculatedly to clear romantic obstacles for his foster brother Elis and equally so for himself, I honestly and indeed find it supremely grating as well as quite emotionally upsetting that both Brother Cadfael and Hugh Beringar in Dead Man's Ransom allow Eluid to completely escape a prison sentence for his deed.
Sure, Ellis Peters prioritising natural justice (aligning true love and restoring social harmony) in her Brother Cadfael novels over the harsh, punitive laws of the 12th century, which would have meant a brutal public execution for Eliud in Dead Man's Ransom is something with which I wholeheartedly agree, sorry, but no legal consequences at all for Eluid just rubs me the wrong proverbial way. So yes and indeed, while I have still more than decently enjoyed Dead Man's Ransom, Peters' ending for Dead Man's Ransom of allowing Eliud to completely escape even somewhat, even a bit of prison sentence (or some financial penalties) leaves a somewhat bitter taste for me, since I do strongly believe that mercy should temper justice and never ever completely erase it (so that my rating for Dead Man's Ransom is therefore only three stars and that said three star rating is also pretty generous of and from me).
June 3, 2026
(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)
4.5*
First time read the author's work?: No
Will you be reading more?: Yes
Would you recommend?: Yes
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
4.5*
First time read the author's work?: No
Will you be reading more?: Yes
Would you recommend?: Yes
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
November 8, 2017
A rich selection of well-differentiated characters, each examining an intersection of cultures or a little represented element of historic culture. Really brining Peters' characterisation to the fore as a reliable force for compelling literature.
The Sanctuary Sparrow: A depiction of a deeply warped merchant family rotted by money and emotional neglect against the rich sincerity and vitality of a serf girl and her hounded minstrel lover.
The Devil's Novice: An interesting narrative of the mental turmoil caused by internalising a traumatic event and being unable to share this with others to remove the pressure. The concepts stronger than the characters here.
Dead Man's Ransom: The conflict between haughty independent Wales and King Stephen's Shropshire. A sobering depiction of obsession and raising interesting questions over culpability.
The Sanctuary Sparrow: A depiction of a deeply warped merchant family rotted by money and emotional neglect against the rich sincerity and vitality of a serf girl and her hounded minstrel lover.
The Devil's Novice: An interesting narrative of the mental turmoil caused by internalising a traumatic event and being unable to share this with others to remove the pressure. The concepts stronger than the characters here.
Dead Man's Ransom: The conflict between haughty independent Wales and King Stephen's Shropshire. A sobering depiction of obsession and raising interesting questions over culpability.
September 27, 2022
This book is brilliant, all 3 stories are really good, its so comforting and warm, the characters are so loveable and subtly complex so they feel very real, the descriptions are really lovely with some one liners reflective of life, it has romance running through it aswell a really nice depiction of love, and ontop of that a brilliant murder mystery plot that's so cleverly constructed with clues seamlessly woven in, the book stands alone even without the mystery so that element ontop just makes it perfect, so wholesome and precious
October 24, 2018
any novel by ellis peters or by him writing under barbara michaels,is worth reading,the three novels,in the third cadfael omnibus,are an case in point.
September 17, 2012
Finished first novel in this volume when feeling exhausted and ooky one weekend, between doing other things. I find Peters' prose restful, and the medieval pace more soothing (and just as interesting) than a fast-paced contemporary setting.
Finished second novel in this volume, and was surprised - I read many Cadfael books, years ago, but this one did not seem familiar to me. Very enjoyable.
All three, quite enjoyable. Soon,on to the fourth Omnibus. I do enjoy having the collections in larger volumes, it is much easier to leap into the next story.
Finished second novel in this volume, and was surprised - I read many Cadfael books, years ago, but this one did not seem familiar to me. Very enjoyable.
All three, quite enjoyable. Soon,on to the fourth Omnibus. I do enjoy having the collections in larger volumes, it is much easier to leap into the next story.
December 23, 2012
Came across this just by chance and really enjoyed it. I've always been interested in novels about monastic life in the Middle Ages (though I'm an Orthodox Jew myself) and the mystery story, combined with very nice medieval sounding prose made for a fun read. The mystery story was strong enough to stand on its own...not too obvious and with plenty of clues dropped along the way. The main characters, who accompany us throughout the whole series, are very likeable and there are many interesting minor characters. I plan to read more of this series.
November 30, 2025
Una bellissima compagnia per le prime serate fredde dell' anno ma anche da leggere sotto l' ombrellone. Grazie a fratello Cadfael anche i momenti più noiosi diventano interessanti.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews