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Dead Man's Ransom

Dead Man's Ransom

Historical MysteryMystery
Published
1984
Language
English

Synopsis

Dead Man's Ransom takes Brother Cadfael into the tangled politics of 1141, when England's civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud spills into a prisoner exchange between English and Welsh forces. The sheriff of Shropshire is returned wounded but alive, only to be murdered within the walls of the abbey itself. Suspicion quickly falls on Elis, a young Welsh hostage who has fallen in love with the sheriff's daughter and stands to gain from his death. With Elis's honor and life on the line, Cadfael must untangle loyalty, love, and old grievances between England and Wales to find the true killer.

A classic entry in Edith Pargeter's medieval mystery series, weighing legal guilt against moral complexity in its resolution.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

AtmosphericReflective

Genres

Historical Mystery Mystery Historical Fiction

About the author

E
Edith Pargeter

Edith Mary Pargeter OBE BEM (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her pen name Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics. She is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern, and especially for her medieval detective series The Cadfael Chronicles.

Characters

Brother CadfaelProtagonist

Herbalist monk and amateur investigator at Shrewsbury Abbey, called on to find the sheriff's true killer.

ElisSupporting

Young Welshman held hostage and the chief suspect in the sheriff's murder after falling for his daughter.

All characters in Dead Man's Ransom
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