One Corpse Too Many [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

With her first Brother Cadfael novel ("A Morbid Taste for Bones"), English author Ellis Peters introduced us to perhaps, now, the most famous of the medieval "detectives"! And in her second installment, "One Corpse Too Many," we find the erstwhile Benedictine monk up to his neck in another murder mystery, this time involving way too many deaths!

In this episode, Brother Cadfael and his beloved Shrewsbury have the unpleasant task of burying the bodies of 94 soldiers, killed as a result of a battle between Stephen and the Empress Maud, both trying to claim the throne of England. In this ugly civil war, we find the countryside constantly in a flux as to which side is which, as this struggle, which lasted for 12 years, seemed to change shapes and sides all too frequently. In this instance, it is Stephen who has won the day. After the hanging of the hold-outs, Brother Cadfael, representing the church and the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul in Shrewsbury, goes in to arrange for the proper burial of the dead. He is told there were exactly 94 bodies. Instead, he finds an extra one--that of a young man, unidentified, who has had his throat slashed.

And Brother Cadfael, over the course of the novel, uses all his God-given talents to solve the mystery. And solve it, of course, he does. He wants not only to identify the young man, but to name the murderer. At the same time, Peters, whose real name is Edith Pargeter, lays the foundation for two of her other recurring characters, Aline and Hugh Beringer (This is a nice romantic touch!). Cadfael, himself, is the herbalist to the abbey and uses that skill to help him solve the murder. He is also able to call upon some of the knowledge he learned during his younger days as a Crusader to the Holy Lands. In all, Peters has created a full-blown medieval character--one who is at once ever the romantic, yet is worldly enough to negotiate the foibles of reality. Peters and Cadfael add up to a great literary combination and their numbers prove it!

Ellis Peters has written another excellent book. This one follows on from 'A morbid taste for bones' and although (I feel) it isn't quite as good a mystery, it's an excellent story.

King Stephen is attempting to secure land and money in his fight against the Empress Maud. The current stage is Shrewsbury and a successful attack leaves few survivors of the defending garrison. King Stephen condemns them to death and upon Cadfaels arrival to bury the dead in a Christian manner, finds there is one more than was counted originally (all souls must be accounted for and prayers said for them).

The extra corpse, once found, is seen to have been murdered. Cadfael must use all his cunning and keep his eyes and ears open to solve this one.

This story concentrates more on the underlying story than the actual mystery but the guilty party doesn't become apparent until near the end making it a good and suspenseful read. Buy it!

"I am telling you, my lord Prestcote, there is a murdered man among your executed men, a leaf hidden in your forest." Thus does Brother Cadfael inform King Stephen's man that an additional body has been placed by someone amongst those who have been hanged for their treason against the king. Who placed him there? And why?

The second book in the Cadfael series was published in 1979. Although it contains largely the same Abbey personnel as the first, this time its mood is different. For a start, there are no journeys into the hills of North Wales; rather, the plot is focussed centrally on the town of Shrewsbury. Secondly, the forces of history impedes to a greater degree, as we are present at the successful siege of the town by King Stephen: the civil war between Stephen and Matilda is now well to the fore.

We are also introduced to Hugh Berengar, the future sheriff that will appear in the remaining eighteen books of the series. They both commence their acquaintance by being cautious in their approach to one another. Late in the book, Berengar accuses Cadfael of being an alchemist: even of being a wizard. Ironically, this is moments before discovering that Cadfael has cheated him of his expected treasure. But Ellis Peters views her characters under an older system of virtues, with Cadfael stating to Berengar that the latter would never value a trifle of gold above his self-esteem. When Berengar is appointed deputy sheriff in the closing scenes, did Peters envisage that he would play such a prominent role in future episodes?

As usual, Peters's Cadfael whodunits do not rely on cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. No, her work relies more on intellect and atmosphere to draw the reader on. The plot is well-formulated, though relying on the usual chance encounters, such as that between Cadfael and Osbern in chapter eleven. And there are, as usual, some facts or omissions that make the story work, such as the abbey's authorities not having too tight a rein on Godith or Godric when within the abbey precincts - or without, and also on the precinct being open to its south. But these are minor criticisms and I look forward to reading the third in the chronicles of Brother Cadfael.