In the 12th century Benedictine monastary of Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael has settled down to a quiet life in charge of the herbarium after an adventurous, and far from monastic, youth. But when his piror determines to acquire the bones of a saint form a remote Welsh village, Cadfael's worldly experience becomes vitally important. It is fortunate indeed that his skills as a herbalist are matched by his prowess as a detective, since the obstacles to...

Silver Dagger Award Winner: In this medieval mystery, Brother Cadfael faces suspicion when one of his herbal ingredients is used to kill a man.
Gervase Bonel is a guest of Shrewsbury Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul when he suddenly takes ill. Luckily, the abbey boasts the services of the clever and kindly Brother Cadfael, a skilled herbalist. Cadfael hurries to the man’s bedside, only to be confronted with two surprises: In...

"In the summer of 1138, war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud takes Brother Cadfael from the quiet world of his garden into a battlefield of passions, deceptions, and death. Not far from the safety of the abbey walls, Shrewsbury Castle falls, leaving its ninety-four defenders loyal to the empress to hang as traitors. With a heavy heart, Brother Cadfael agrees to bury the dead, only to make a grisly discovery: one extra victim that has been...

In the year 1140, Peter Clemence, a political envoy on a mission to help prevent the dismemberment of England, is found murdered and suspicion centers on Mer Aspley, a young novice in Brother Cadfael's abbey.

A despised priest is drowned in a pond in this medieval mystery filled with “lively period detail” (Kirkus Reviews).
In a mild December in the year of our Lord 1141, a new priest comes to the parishioners of the Foregate outside the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Father Ailnoth brings with him a housekeeper and her nephew—and a disposition that invites murder.
 
Brother Cadfael quickly...

The winter of 1139 will disrupt Brother Cadfael's tranquil life in Shrewsbury, as raging civil war has sent refugees fleeing north from Worcester. Among them are two young orphans from a noble family and their companion, a young Benedictine nun. The trio, never reaching Shrewsbury, has disappeared somewhere in the wild countryside.

Cadfael fears for these three lost lambs, but another call for help sends him to the Church of Saint Mary. A

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In the year of our Lord 1141, civil war over England's throne leaves a legacy of violence—and the murder of a knight dear to Brother Cadfael. In the spring, a flood of pilgrims comes to the celebration of Saint Winifred at the Abbey, carrying with it many strange souls...and perhaps the knight's killer.

Brother Cadfael's shrewd eyes see all: the prosperous merchant who rings false; an angelic, lame boy and his beautiful, dowerless

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Suspected of robbing the town goldsmith, a young juggler seeks refuge at the abbey where Brother Cadfael is given the job of keeping an eye him while the authorities investigate. But things become more complicated when the goldsmith's neighbor is found floating dead in the river.

On a spring evening in 1140 Shrewsbury, the midnight matins at the Benedictine abbey suddenly reverberate with an unholy sound—a hunt in full cry. Pursued by a drunken mob, the quarry is running for its life. When the frantic creature bursts in to claim sanctuary, Brother Cadfael finds himself fighting off armed townsmen to save a terrified young man. Accused of robbery and murder is Liliwin, a wandering minstrel who performed at the wedding of...

Cadfael is called upon to bury 94 rebel soldiers. The ceremony is disrupted when Cadfael finds one corpse too many, and no one is above suspicion as he hunts for the murderer.