"A Rare Benedictine" collects three short stories about Brother Cadfael, Ellis Peter's 12th-century monk and sleuth.
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In "A Light on the Road to Woodstock," fans learn of the chain of events that led Cadfael, a former Crusader and sailor, to enter the monastic life. Cadfael briefly enters the employ of a lord involved in a land dispute with the Shrewsbury abbey and discovers the lord's deceitful plot for winning the lawsuit.
In "The Price of Light," Cadfael's humanity and compassion shine through as he investigates the theft of two priceless silver candlesticks from the abbey church.
In "Eye Witness," Cadfael devises a trap to catch the person who assaulted the abbey steward and stole his satchel filled with cash.
The review of this Book prepared by Felicia Jordan
For Brother Cadfael fans, Ellis Peters finally provides us with some early background on this formidable Benedictine monk and former Crusader. In “A Rare Benedictine,” Peters relates how he came to enter the monastery at Shrewsbury in the first place. She gives us an excellent chain of events that seems to fill in some of the missing spots. In this book, there are three separate tales, each showing insight into this complex yet lovable and greatly respected monk. At the same time, Peters also paints a vivid picture
of the Shropshire countryside. She amazingly puts great humanity into Cadfael's character and sets him up for the next episode, exciting in its own right!
The review of this Book prepared by Bill Hobbs
