an excellent mystery
ellis peters
c. 1985
214 pages
completed 1/24/2009
read for: brother cadfael chronicles
*may contain spoilers*
This is the eleventh chronicle of the Brother Cadfael mystery series. And just like the last one, it didn't have the same structure as the others which again put me off a little. This time, I don't think Cadfael had ANYTHING to do with the mystery (what happened to Julian Cruce who obviously did NOT take the veil like she had said she was going to). It was all Hugh and Nicholas. Cadfael was just kind of in the background. He sprang to action at the end when he found out what was up with Brother Fidelis, but he had never gone looking to figure that out. He just somehow did.
The mystery was odd to me. I just don't think it worked that same way some of the others have. Though I will say that the twist at the end caught me totally by surprise. I was so frustrated up until I finally figured it out. All these hints kept being dropped and people in the story were figuring it out and talking as if the reader should have figured it out, that I really thought I had missed something. But then it was revealed and my mind was blown.
I was glad the title was explained at the end. I thought it just meant that this mystery was a humdinger, but it actually had meaning behind it. They excellent mystery is the mystery of marriage.
And last, could have done without the character of Brother Urien. I don't really understand what his purpose was other than being creepy.
4/5
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