Far From Morbid

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

Ellis Peters was truly the mistress of the medieval mystery and her devoted readers mourn her passing--if only because we will now never know the fate of Brother Cadfael.

A Morbid Taste for Bones is the first--and best--in the series. It is set in the politically rife time of the twelfth century. The sleuth is a Welsh monk who retired from the fighting life of a crusader in the holy wars. His name is Brother Cadfael. Civil war rages around the countryside as Maude and Stephen battle for the throne. In the abbey, the battle is against sanctimoniousness, self-righteousness, and men chasing sainthood in less than saintly manners.

Peters manages to gently poke at that imperfections of the monks without taking a cynical view of the religion itself. She exposes the pursuit of reliquaries without diminishing the holy orders that participated in the chase.

In A Morbid Taste for Bones, Brother Cadfael is sent with a contingent of monks from the Abbey into Wales to collect the bones of the abbey's patron saint, Winifred. One of the young monks has seen a vision declaring that Winifred wants her bones to be interred at the abbey. He is chosen because he is one of the few brothers who can speak Welsh. Yet, this position is awkward for him as he is uncomfortable with the abbey bullying this small village that has been home to the saint's bones for centuries. Members of the village put up a resistance and the loudest of the resistors is murdered.

Peters skillfully weaves historical events into her fictional accounts. History's writings tell us of the transfer of Saint Winifred's bones to the abbey at Shrewsbury and the miracles that followed. Many of the characters mentioned in Peters' novel are historical people from the period.

Peters provides several likely suspects to the murder and masterfully builds suspense. The book will leave your jaw ajar as the ending is both surprising and beautifully fitting. It's a wonderful story that will have you running out to get the other 19 in the series.

--B. Redman