A Morbid Taste for Bones

In 1137, the ambitious monks of Shrewsbury Abbey set their sights on the relics of Saint Winifred, buried in the remote Welsh village of Gwytherin. Brother Cadfael, the abbey's herbalist and a former crusader who took his vows late, joins the expedition as translator. When the village's most outspoken opponent of the relic-taking is found shot dead with an arrow, Cadfael must sort earthly motive from claims of saintly wrath. With suspicion falling on a young couple and the abbey eager to declare the death a miracle, Cadfael relies on observation, herb-craft, and a soldier's memory of how men really die. Peters's first Cadfael novel set the template for twenty more.