Ebook335 pages6 hours
The Holy Thief
By Ellis Peters
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this ebook
Strangers seek refuge at the abbey as floodwaters rise, a body falls, and a relic vanishes—in this “top drawer” mystery featuring the twelfth-century monk (Chicago Sun-Times)
In the chill, rainy autumn of 1144, two groups of visitors seek the hospitality of the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, and Brother Cadfael fears trouble has come in with them. Among the first arrivals is Brother Tutilo, a young Benedictine with a guileless face and—to Brother Cadfael’s shrewd eyes—a mischievous intelligence. The second group, a ribald French troubadour, his servant, and a girl with the voice of an angel, seems to Brother Cadfael a catalyst for disaster.
All of Cadfael’s fears become manifest as rising floodwaters endanger the abbey’s most sacred relic, the remains of Saint Winifred. When the bones disappear and a dead body is found, Brother Cadfael knows carnal and spiritual intrigues are afoot. Now, in a world that believes in signs and miracles, Brother Cadfael needs his prayers answered—as well as some heavenly guidance to crucial clues—to catch a killer hell-bent on murder.
In the chill, rainy autumn of 1144, two groups of visitors seek the hospitality of the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, and Brother Cadfael fears trouble has come in with them. Among the first arrivals is Brother Tutilo, a young Benedictine with a guileless face and—to Brother Cadfael’s shrewd eyes—a mischievous intelligence. The second group, a ribald French troubadour, his servant, and a girl with the voice of an angel, seems to Brother Cadfael a catalyst for disaster.
All of Cadfael’s fears become manifest as rising floodwaters endanger the abbey’s most sacred relic, the remains of Saint Winifred. When the bones disappear and a dead body is found, Brother Cadfael knows carnal and spiritual intrigues are afoot. Now, in a world that believes in signs and miracles, Brother Cadfael needs his prayers answered—as well as some heavenly guidance to crucial clues—to catch a killer hell-bent on murder.
Author
Ellis Peters
Ellis Peters (the pen name of Edith Pargeter, 1913–1995) is a writer beloved of millions of readers worldwide and has been widely adapted for radio and television, including her Brother Cadfael crime novels, which were made into a series starring Derek Jacobi. She has been the recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger, Edgar Award for Best Novel, Agatha Award for Best Novel, and was awarded an OBE for her services to literature in 1994.
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Titles in the series (34)
One Corpse Too Many Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Potter's Field Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil's Novice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Virgin in the Ice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saint Peter's Fair Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Summer of the Danes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sanctuary Sparrow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rose Rent Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brother Cadfael's Penance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Leper of Saint Giles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pilgrim of Hate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hermit of Eyton Forest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Holy Thief Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Monk's Hood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead Man's Ransom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hermit of Eyton Forest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Confession of Brother Haluin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pilgrim of Hate Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Raven in the Foregate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Excellent Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael Volume One: A Morbid Taste for Bones, One Corpse Too Many, and Monk's Hood Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Morbid Taste for Bones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Heretic's Apprentice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead Man's Ransom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBrother Cadfael's Penance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Virgin in the Ice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Summer of the Danes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Potter's Field Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for The Holy Thief
Rating: 4.2727272727272725 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
11 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The story's good, just not much of a mystery, and the solving of it was more clumsy than Cadfael's usual grace. We'll attribute this one to his worry over being discovered re the saint's reliquary…
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One of the best in a very good series. In some sense, I am sad that I have finished the full set of Cadfael Chronicles, but this last installment was incredibly good. The usual setting of a murder, a "likely suspect" under lock and key, the love interest of a young couple - yet this one seems different. The characters are less black and white - many more shades of gray than usual here. Multiple turns of events keep one turning the pages. Strongly recommended - both the series and this particular story.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Another page-turner from Ellis Peters which causes dishes to be left in the sink and beds unmade until the mystery is revealed. In Holy Thief we witness the bones of Saint Winifred stolen from off the High Altar at the Abbey of Shrewsbury during a major flood from the River Severn. We have the murder of an innocent shepherd who would be able to identify the thief and we have a developing love between a traveling troubadour and a young visiting Brother from another Abbey who has the voice of an angel. Every character is finely drawn by Ellis Peters and each reveals something of their medieval place in society. There is a fine tuning of Peter's word choice creating atmosphere, insight into character and vivid word pictures. Brother Cadfael, herbalist and amateur sleuth from the Abbey, displays his humanity and lack of clerical legalism in all of his dealings with the miscreants involved in the Holy theft.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Number nineteen and all the elements are in place for a good tale. We have Red Herrings and misdirection, we have a body and multiple suspects. We have motives and misdeeds. Peters delivers a good story.Way back when, Cadfael did something that he probably shouldn't have in regards to Saint Winifred who is the prize of Saint Peters and Saint Pauls monastery/Cathedral. Well the act was such that it could never be undone, and what takes place in this book could expose Cadfael's indiscretion. Yet larger misdeeds abound once a body is found.Cadfael, as always, is perfectly positioned with his study of human nature and careful sleuthing to uncover the truth behind all the mysteries. Encompassing the telling is more of the politics surrounding the stagnating civil war. Here we meet Robert Beaumont, Earl of Leicester and the candid dialogue between and Hugh Beringar, sheriff of our home county, adds further to the linear time frame in which the canon takes place. We see the faith of the times put to the test also and it highlights how much more faith was relied on then as to now. That alone elevates this tale of our Medieval past above the rest.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Earl of Essex is dying and trying to save his soul by giving back the lands he annexed. One of these is a abbey. The abbey is in a very poor condition and they ask for help from other houses of the Benedictine Order. Sub-prior Herluin has Tutilo, a novice, with him. When the abbey is flooded the holy relics of St Winifred have to be moved. When the flood recedes a theft is discovered. To add to this there's a murder. Cadfael has to investigate to find what happened and who is responsible, and to find the lost item!Interesting and engaging, I've been enjoying this series and it doesn't seem to lose it's freshness, though I'd be reluctant to go anywhere near Cadfael if I knew him!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A murder occurs after someone tries to "relocate" the remains of St. Winifred.
Book preview
The Holy Thief - Ellis Peters
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