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92nd out of 419 books
—
403 voters
The Holy Thief (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #19)
by
Ellis Peters
The 19th chronicle of Brother Cadfael. In the chill autumn of 1144, rising flood waters endanger the sacred remains of St. Winifred, the abbey's most cherished possession. When the bones disappear and a corpse is found, Brother Cadfael needs his prayers answered to catch a killer.
Paperback, 237 pages
Published
March 1st 1994
by Mysterious Press
(first published 1992)
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Best read after "Potter's Field"
Again, Mystery's video misleads. Read this first; it's a better story.
Cadfael series: excellent historical fiction. Ellis Peters draws the reader into the twelfth century with modern story telling but holds us there with a richness of detail which evokes a time and place which might as well be fictional. Though the foreground of each chronicle is a murder mystery, behind it a nation and a culture are woven in a wondrous tapestry.
Again, Mystery's video misleads. Read this first; it's a better story.
Cadfael series: excellent historical fiction. Ellis Peters draws the reader into the twelfth century with modern story telling but holds us there with a richness of detail which evokes a time and place which might as well be fictional. Though the foreground of each chronicle is a murder mystery, behind it a nation and a culture are woven in a wondrous tapestry.
Last night before bed, I finished this particular book in the series of early medieval mysteries centering around Brother Cadfael; and I found it a very enjoyable read, since I was pretty well unable to figure out whodunit (in reference to the inevitable murder) until very late in the book. (Admittedly, this takes no great effort on an author’s part; I can be distracted by the most obvious red herrings, and also by shiny bits of sparkly paper confetti.) But I did enjoy this book, and as I will s...more
I enjoyed this one about as much as I have enjoyed any in the series. The story is a fairly typical one for the series (Cadfael helping out young lovers), but there are a number of interesting twists. The story revolves about the reliquary containing teh "remains" of St. Winifred and has a much greater sense of the mystery of why the reliquary of St. Winifred actually works at Shrewsbury - even though, as we learned early on in the series, St. Winifred is still in Wales. The emphasis on faith wa...more
The penultimate book in the series, and if you didn't already know there was another book this would be a great story with which to wrap it up. One, it takes place primarily at the abbey. Two, many of the familiar cast are involved: Hugh Beringar, Abbot Radulfus, Prior Robert and Brother Jerome. Three, we revisit Dame Donata and Sulien Blount and wrap up their stories from The Potter's Field (book #17). (Not that it needed wrapping up, but it's nice to have.) And four, much of the story centers...more
Another great installment in the Cadfael series. This time Hugh Berringer gets a bit more play and perhaps Saint Winifred as well.
This one varies greatly from the TV adaptation so might as well be a new mystery. As is usually the case, the novel is a richer, deeper, more nuanced and ultimately more satifying experience than the TV adaptation but both are still enjoyable.
We also get to revisit a few characters from earlier episodes. Between the familar faces, and the charming evocation of medie...more
This one varies greatly from the TV adaptation so might as well be a new mystery. As is usually the case, the novel is a richer, deeper, more nuanced and ultimately more satifying experience than the TV adaptation but both are still enjoyable.
We also get to revisit a few characters from earlier episodes. Between the familar faces, and the charming evocation of medie...more
I wasn't sure how this one was going to turn out, unlike some of the previous reads in this series which while remaining enjoyable, were more predictable. I like that as the series progressed, characters became more "grey" with a more subtle mix of 'good' and 'bad' qualities - so much more like real people. Edith Pargeter was a talented writer whose well-chosen words never leave me stumbling over her writing and losing the thread of the story as I mentally edit - a trait all too uncommon with ma...more
Number nineteen and all the elements are in place for a good tale. We have Red Herrings and misdirection, we have a body and multiple suspects. We have motives and misdeeds. Peters delivers a good story.
Way back when, Cadfael did something that he probably shouldn't have in regards to Saint Winifred who is the prize of Saint Peters and Saint Pauls monastery/Cathedral. Well the act was such that it could never be undone, and what takes place in this book could expose Cadfael's indiscretion. Yet l...more
Way back when, Cadfael did something that he probably shouldn't have in regards to Saint Winifred who is the prize of Saint Peters and Saint Pauls monastery/Cathedral. Well the act was such that it could never be undone, and what takes place in this book could expose Cadfael's indiscretion. Yet l...more
One of the best of the 20 Brother Cadfael mystery novels.
Cadfael was a Benedictine monk and herbalist at Shrewsbury Abbey in England. Born in 1080 in Gwynedd (northern Wales), Cadfael became a monk in middle age, after going on the First Crusade as both a soldier and later, a sailor. He also happened to be a top notch detective.
Ellis Peters (the pen name for Edith Pargeter), an extremely a skilled writer, has won numerous literary awards. The stories are set between 1135 and 1144 and contain a...more
Cadfael was a Benedictine monk and herbalist at Shrewsbury Abbey in England. Born in 1080 in Gwynedd (northern Wales), Cadfael became a monk in middle age, after going on the First Crusade as both a soldier and later, a sailor. He also happened to be a top notch detective.
Ellis Peters (the pen name for Edith Pargeter), an extremely a skilled writer, has won numerous literary awards. The stories are set between 1135 and 1144 and contain a...more
In the nineteenth installment in the Brother Cadfael series, the abbey is entertaining two parties of travelers: a pair of monks from their sister monastery at Ramsey, and a troubladour from Provence, with his footman and singing slave-girl. They are also expecting a flood, and are preparing to evacuate the relics of the abbey, especially the prized reliquary with the bones of St. Winifred, to higher ground. Theft and murder ensue, and Brother Cadfael does some investigating.
Certainly much bette...more
Certainly much bette...more
Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series - set around 1000/1100, a Welsh man who had been with the Crusades, soldier/sailor, loved women etc settles down to retirement as a Benedictine monk, working as an apothecary within the abbey and the community, and assisting the sheriff with mysteries. He's a really wholesome character who understands people and life, not at all narrow and irritating. There is also a series of movies made based on these books with Derek Jacobi playing Brother Cadfael
My beloved Brother Cadfael. If I ever find a series that captures me like this one, I'll consider myself double blessed. I love a lot of historical mystery series out there....but Cadfael and Hugh and their village of Shrewbury became like family, dear family. The only loss I felt nearly as greatly as Ellis Peters, was Kate Ross. (Reviews later, but I take it back, I am doubly blessed, I loved Julian Kestrel as much as I loved Cadfael).
These suspenseful stories include pinches of romance, devotion, and humor, as well as truly unique characters. The mysteries use as background superb portrayals of 12th Century England. The author is a noted Medieval scholar. Positive. Caution: the series is aimed at adults, not adolescents. Many themes of these mystery novels are ADULT themes, including rape, abuse of various sorts, etc. They are all positive, ultimately.
The Cadfael books don't exactly race along but that's part of their charm. The settings are evocative, the historical details accurate and the stories slow but well plotted. You always feel better for having read them.
The series also made a very successful transition to TV with Derek Jacobi, and it's impossible to read the books now without him in mind.
The series also made a very successful transition to TV with Derek Jacobi, and it's impossible to read the books now without him in mind.
The Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters is a wonderful set of mysteries that take place in 12th century England. Ellis Peters does a wonderful job of describing all the characters and she is a great mystery writer. The cases are complicated enough to make them interesting.
A thoroughly enjoyable read - from the characters (both well-established in the series and newly introduced in this volume) to the storyline to the setting and even to the historical digressions. Cadfael is an appealing protagonist, a sincerely devout brother with a long and influential secular history.
This was another very enjoyable book. I liked the fact that both Prior Robert and Brother Jerome show a bit of human frailty in this book, even if, in the case of Prior Robert, it doesn't last very long. I also liked Robert Bossu.
A fine Father Cadfael mystery. For those who haven't read these they are among the very best of the historical fiction I have encountered, and certainly the best written. And, no I don't think I have a religious fetish. It just kind of looks like I might:) Now a mystery fetish I do indeed have.
Aug 12, 2012
Graham
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012-reading-challenge
red herrings, love, music, a good woman (actually two) several instruments and a key bit of evidence in the hay loft. Great fun. Nice to see the series continues in strength.
Book 19. Okay, but not as entertaining as I had expected. Since it referenced the first chronicle of Cadfael's I had expected more oompf. The characters were not well-developed and the story was dragged out far longer than necessary.
Because I skipped ahead to Brother Cadfael's Penance, which is actually the last of the Cadfael series, The Holy Thief wound up being the last book for me. Although Penance ties up the series very nicely in its own way, I quite enjoyed Thief as the finale, because it ties back in many ways to the very first Cadfael book, A Morbid Taste for Bones.
Brother Cadfael solves the murder of a local shephard, while a two talented singers, one a slave and one a noviate, meet and follow their hearts.
I enjoyed it. Be warned, it has some major spoilers for some previous Cadfael mystery. I'm not sure which, as this is my first Cadfael in decades.
The penultimate Brother Cadfael ... Although each of the Brother Cadfael detective stories stands alone, I would recommend that interested persons read A Morbid Taste for Bones, the first chronicle, in order to fully "get" St. Winifred's part in The Holy Thief.
Sep 12, 2012
Barbara
added it
As usual, a charming period piece with twists and turns and a bit of religious magic.
All the cadfael series are excellent. I re-read them every few years
One of my favorite mystery series. Brother Cadfael is my hero.
This is the best of the Cadfael books in my opinion.
Nov 17, 2010
Rusty
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
mystery-thriller
Ah, the adventures of Brother Cadfael continue as he encounters a French troubadour and a girl whose voice is so pure it compared to an angel. Then a flood threatens the bones of the Saint Winifred. Of course, there is a murder and the bones of the saint disappear. Are the two incidents connected? It's up to Brother Cadfael to investigate both and find out. Can the murderer be apprehended and the bones recovered? Read another delightful adventurous mystery with Brother Cadfael as the mind that w...more
saw film first? Not entirely familiar, though
Some terribly exciting names in this one.
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A pseudonym used by Edith Pargeter.
Edith Mary Pargeter, BEM (September 28, 1913 in Horsehay, Shropshire, England –October 14, 1995) 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...more
More about Ellis Peters...
Edith Mary Pargeter, BEM (September 28, 1913 in Horsehay, Shropshire, England –October 14, 1995) 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...more
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Mar 02, 2011 09:08pm