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This, fourth, book in the Brother Cadfael series, takes place around the Abbey and the town of Shrewsbury. For three days, the Abbey holds St Peter's Fair, where wealthy merchants gather and people come from far and wide to buy goods. However, the local townspeople are displeased and a row brews between them and the Abbey, when they ask for a proportion of the fair tolls to be given to the town to restore the walls after recent outbreaks of war - seen in earlier books, when the town was besieged
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The Abbey and town of Shrewsbury are looking forward to the annual St Peter's Fair as a respite from the battles of the civil war. Then a wealthy merchant - come to sell his goods at the fair - is found dead and it looks as though violence hasn't gone from the town at all. Brother Cadfael witnessed a violent incident which may have led to the murder but as ever things are not as they seem and it will take all Cadfael's intelligence and ingenuity to discover the truth.
I like Cadfael and I always ...more
I like Cadfael and I always ...more

This Brother Cadfael mystery is set in the summer of 1139, in Shrewsbury The townsfolk are eager for the annual three-day St. Peter's fair. The tradesmen of the town are eager to get a share of its profits - normally given entirely to the abbey. The abbot, however, refuses which creates a protest from the businessmen. When the town's youth escalate the situation out of hand one of the merchants attending the fair is found murdered.
Brother Cadfael is always present and keeps a watchful eye out f ...more
Brother Cadfael is always present and keeps a watchful eye out f ...more

No long journeys in this one, as it all happens in and around the Abbey. We get to know the new abbot from the beginning, and this one gets on well with Cadfael. St Peter's Fair is held within the grounds of the Shrewsbury Abbey, but historically the town has to close down for it's duration. This makes life difficult for the town's people,who ask for compensation from the Abbey, for loss of earnings. So we get our first sighting of the new Abbot, who refuses. The merchants selling their wares, c
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Jul 07, 2014
Shauna
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review of another edition
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