by Ellis Peters
Part of Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, book 3
First published 1980
Christmas 1138 brings an unwelcome surprise to Shrewsbury Abbey. Brother Cadfael rushes to treat a suddenly ill guest, Gervase Bonel, only to discover the man has been fatally poisoned with monk's hood oil stolen from Cadfael's own herbal stores. The sheriff quickly arrests Edwin, Bonel's stepson who despised the dead man. But Cadfael faces a deeper complication. He recognizes Bonel's wife as Richildis, the woman he once loved before taking monastic vows. Now she begs him to prove her son's innocence. Cadfael finds himself caught between his duty to justice and his lingering feelings for his former betrothed. The herbalist monk must use his knowledge of both deadly plants and human nature to uncover the real killer before an innocent young man pays the ultimate price.
Genres: historical, historical-fiction, mystery, crime
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Shrewsbury Abbey
Period: 1138
288 pages · Kindle Edition · MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
Content warnings: death, murder