Dead man's ransom

Dead man's ransom

1984 • 189 pages

Ratings6

Average rating4.1

15

In February of 1141, men march home from war to Shrewsbury, but the captured sheriff Gilbert Prestcote is not among them. Elis, a young Welsh prisoner, is delivered to the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul to begin a tale that will test Brother Cadfael’s sense of justice—and his heart.

By good fortune, it seems, the prisoner can be exchanged as Sheriff Prestcote’s ransom. What no one expects is that good-natured Elis will be struck down by cupid’s arrow. The sheriff’s own daughter holds him in thrall, and she, too, is blind with passion. But regaining her father means losing her lover. The sheriff, ailing and frail, is brought to the abbey’s infirmary—where he is murdered. Suspicion falls on the prisoner, who has only his Welsh honor to gain Brother Cadfael’s help. And Cadfael gives it, not knowing the truth will be a trial for his own soul.

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Series

Featured Series

20 primary books24 released books

Chronicles of Brother Cadfael

Chronicles of Brother Cadfael is a 24-book series with 20 primary works first released in 1920 with contributions by Ellis Peters.


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As always Ellis Peters delivers a great thoughtful recreation of a time before the enlightenment when people were more concerned with practical matters and less with being seen as right.

January 10, 2018

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