Saturday, April 5, 2014

Book 20: St. Peter's Fair

St. Peter's Fair by Peters is the fourth mystery in the Brother Cadfael series. Under the leadership of a new abbot, Shrewsbury prepares to host their annual St. Peter's Fair, which bring in merchants from all over. Friction begins even before the start of the fair as the townspeople request that the abbey give 10% of their fees toward repairing the town, but their petition is refused. Some of the young men decide to take their plea directly to the merchants, who also refuse their petition. A fight breaks out, and the sheriff sends Hugh Beringar to restore order. That night, the daughter of one of the merchants comes to the abbey to report him missing. Beringar and Cadfael search unsuccessfully for the body, and Hugh takes Emma under his protection and leaves her in the capable hands of his lovely wife. The abbot not wishing any bad reflection on the abbey instructs Cadfael to keep an eye on Emma and the investigation to inform him of the developments. Then one of Emma's men is found bound in the booth, and the barge is searched. The chief suspect is cleared when another merchant is found murdered after his capture. Clearly, whoever is behind this is searching for something, but the lovely Emma continues to claim no knowledge of what could link all these events together. Can Beringar and Cadfael protect Emma when the murderer sets his sights on her?



St. Peter's Fair set in the unsettled time when both King Stephen and Empress Maud are claiming the throne of England is a tale of both murder and intrigue. An excellent follow up to the previous books in the series which I continue thoroughly enjoy and to recommend for ages 14 and up.

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