St. Peter's Fair (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, #4)

by Ellis Peters

St. Peter's Fair is a grand, festive event, attracting merchants from across England and beyond. There is a pause in the civil war wracking the country in the summer of 1139, and the fair promises to bring some much-needed gaiety to the town of Shrewsbury. — Until, that is, the body of a wealthy merchant is found murdered in the river Severn. Was Thomas of Bristol the victim of murderous thieves? And, if so, why were his valuables abandoned nearby?

Brother Cadfael, that shrewd but kindly monk, offers to help the merchant's lovely niece Emma. But while he is searching for the killer, Thomas of Bristol's wares are ransacked and two more men are murdered. Emma almost certainly knows more than she is telling -- as others will soon realize. Cadfael desperately races to save the young girl, knowing that in a country at war with itself, betrayal can come from any direction -- and even good intentions can kill.

• ISBN10: 0333310500
• ISBN13: 9780333310502
• Publish Date: 25 June 1987 (first published March 1983)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 6 February 1997
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Imprint: Macmillan
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

I had a bit of genre whiplash with this one, as I'd picked it up after a month of binge re-reading urban fantasy.  To say that the change in pace required an adjustment is an understatement.  So it's possible that this book deserves a higher rating even than the 4 stars I gave it, but the fact remains that as much as I loved the writing, it felt like it was taking forever.   I can think of a few authors who try to use the structure of the book to build up suspense, but I'm not sure I've seen it so effectively done as Ellis has here.  Breaking each day into it's own section doesn't sound like much, but - in my edition at least - each day is announced on it's own page, free of any other text; the result was a quiet tension.   Unfortunately, as effective as it was, I still found that the bad guy was telegraphed by virtue of the cast of characters; the person served no apparent use to the plot.  The character wasn't the only one I suspected, nor the only one that was seemingly useless, but he was the one that felt the most obvious.   Nevertheless, it was an excellent mystery and brilliant writing.  I'm giddy, having so many more adventures with Brother Cadfael to look forward to.