Book Review: One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters

One Corpse Too Many: Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #2 by Ellis Peters

Shrewsbury is besieged by King Stephen, one of the claimants to the English throne. The town is full of Empress Maud sympathizers, hence the conflict. Brother Cadfael is neutral even though his monastery is a part of the town. He gets drawn into the complexity when a local noble's daughter is brought to the monastery for hiding. The siege seems certain of success and she cannot escape, unlike her father. She is disguised as a boy and brought to the monastery by a family friend. The "boy" is assigned to Cadfael to help with the herbarium. Cadfael soon discovers her true identity but keeps it a secret. Meanwhile the King's forces take the town and hang ninety-four captured soldiers from the walls as a warning to other Maud sympathizers. The dead bodies are taken down the next day and the monks are given the task of burying the bodies. Cadfael is put in charge. Locals are allowed to see if any are relatives so they can be buried by the family. Before the bodies are disbursed, Cadfael counts them and discovers the titular ninety-fifth corpse. Someone committed murder and hoped that the body would go unnoticed into a group grave. Cadfael wants to investigate. King Stephen is angry that someone would try to take advantage of the situation and approves of a search for whodunit. 

For all the grimness of the setting, the mystery is not so gruesome. Cadfael's two problems (getting the girl out and getting the killer) are solved with a lot of patience and cleverness. He is very thorough in all that he does, often thinking out a situation for all the possibilities and searching for the mostly likely answer. He is a sincerely faithful monk, looking to bring about justice and healing in a hard situation. He does not solve either problem with brute force but takes advantage of situations and opportunities. The story also has a couple of romantic subplots that lighten up the proceedings.

Cadfael is also presented as authentically medieval (the story is set in the 1100s). He doesn't sound or act like an American PI in monk's robes. The dialogue and vocabulary have a more ancient feel without being incomprehensible. The descriptions of the walled town and the monastery and other locations ring true. Peters captures the time well and presents an interesting story.

Recommended.

This book will be discussed on A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast 279.