Buy used:
$16.37
$3.99 delivery May 21 - 31. Details
Used: Good | Details
Sold by WonderBook-USA
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Ships from the US with tracking. Normal expected delivery to CA 5-9 business days .Serving Millions of Book Lovers since 1980. Good condition. Mass Market Paperback edition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera, scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle app

Follow the author

Ellis Peters
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

An Excellent Mystery Mass Market Paperback – Oct. 1 1997

by Ellis Peters (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,555 ratings
See all formats and editions
In 1141, two monks bearing news of war and destruction arrive in Shrewsbury, where Brother Cadfael discovers that the pair harbors secrets so great that they could destroy a life, a future, and a holy order. Reprint.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Book 11 of 20
    The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Mysterious Pr
  4. Publication date
    Oct. 1 1997
  5. Dimensions
    10.16 x 1.27 x 17.15 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0446405329
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0446405324
  8. See all details
Next page
Popular Highlights in this book
What are Popular Highlights?
Previous page
  1. Love in ignorance squanders what love, informed, crowds and overfills with tokens of eternity.
    Highlighted by 149 Kindle readers
  2. His spirit outgrows his body, soon it must burst out and become visible, there is no room for it in this fragile parcel of bones.
    Highlighted by 125 Kindle readers
  3. Youth is no less vulnerable, by the very quality it has of making the heart ache that beholds and has lost it.
    Highlighted by 56 Kindle readers
Next page

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mysterious Pr; Reprint edition (Oct. 1 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0446405329
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0446405324
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 113 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.16 x 1.27 x 17.15 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,555 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Ellis Peters

Ellis Peters

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her nom de plume Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern. She is well known for her medieval-detective series The Cadfael Chronicles.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Meray (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,555 global ratings

Top reviews from Canada

dianeG
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in Canada on August 14, 2021
Verified Purchase
When I read Ellis Peters books it’s like I’m living in the 12th century.Your drawn in by Cadfael and his life.It’s very captivating and I’m going to read them all.
Helpful
 Report
E. A. Solinas
4.0 out of 5 stars Mystery and death
Reviewed in Canada on May 1, 2011
Open up almost any of Ellis Peters' Cadfael mysteries, and chances are that you'll find a romance circling around the heart of it -- good ones, bad ones, and occasionally weird ones. "An Excellent Mystery: The Eleventh Chronicle of Brother Cadfael" is a solid example of the third kind, centering on a powerful love affair, and the only downside is the occasional stretch of believability.

After the abbey at Winchester is burned down, two new monks arrive at Shrewsbury -- Brother Humilis, a famous ex-crusader, and Brother Fidelis, a mute young boy who follows him and cares for him. It also turns out that Humilis received some truly horrible wounds during the Crusades that are slowly killing him, and have left him basically castrated. Because of his injury, he ended his engagement to a rich young girl named Lady Julian and became a monk.

However, an old friend of his arrives at the abbey and asks for his blessing in wooing Julian... only to find that while her brother says she became a nun, there is no trace of her becoming one. Cadfael is brought into the investigation, with only some pieces of jewelry as the clues to where she has gone -- but it soon becomes clear that one of the monks is more than he appears.

This book ends with a marriage prayer, and honestly that isn't surprising. "An Excellent Mystery" revolves around marriage, thwarted love and how true love can be divorced from sex -- on one hand you have the deep love between Fidelis and Humilis, and on the other you have a bisexual monk's obsessions and with Rhun and Fidelis (which are all about physical attraction and rage, with no actual love).

And it's some of Peters' cleverest plotting since EVER: she brings in all sorts of unexpected twists and clues that seem to point towards a straightforward murder mystery, only to double the story back at the climax. And she writes in a rich, antiquated style that seems to match the mellow medieval setting, as well as some depictions of what happened to some of the crusaders who were less fortunate than Cadfael.

The one downside: the story's biggest twist (and the backstory behind it) stretch credibility to the snapping point. Without revealing too much, it's hard to imagine how two different characters could develop such passionate, true feelings for other people they had barely met. It's just too much.

However, Peters' characterizations are excellent -- the warm, paternal Cadfael sits in the middle of all these events, and we get to see some of his old warrior blood stirring. The well-named Humilis and Fidelis are powerful depictions of a dying, ruined warrior who has made peace with his impending death, and a quiet boy with a secret. And Brother Urien is a complex character as well -- Peters makes you both despise and pity him.

"An Excellent Mystery" is indeed an excellent mystery -- sweet, confusing, and a little too romantic for its own good. Not the best-known of Peters' Cadfael mysteries, but certainly worth reading.
Helpful
 Report
Luisa Verteramo
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed a good read
Reviewed in Canada on May 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
My goal is to read all of Cadfael's mysteries in the order they've been written. This one is the 11th. and it is as good as the very first.
You are transformed in another world and you start to care and wonder about the characters and this is what good reading is about.
Truly enjoyed it and can not wait until my next Cadfaels mystery arrives! Anyone who enjoys historical mysteries and well written dialogue will enjoy this one.
Helpful
 Report
D PRICHARD
5.0 out of 5 stars Ellis Peters just a Great Writer
Reviewed in Canada on December 21, 2018
I have read almost all of the book of the series (Cadael the Walsh Monk) of the medieval England is the best written series of books that are so enjoyable to read, each book is a total story in its self. I was missing some of the books in the series and had to order all the ones I did not have.
Helpful
 Report
Laura Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the Brother Cadfael Mysteries
Reviewed in Canada on September 6, 2000
I have to say that this is my favorite of the Chronicles. It has great characters, a riveting storyline, and the most beautiful picture of true, sacrificial love I have ever read. To say anymore would give away the ending. DO NOT skip ahead in this one or you will not get the full impact of the story. It is better to keep guessing. But read it a second time to get the details that you missed from not knowing the secret.
Helpful
 Report
AntiochAndy
4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Mystery
Reviewed in Canada on April 28, 2001
It is the late summer of 1141. The war between King Stephen and Empress Maud to decide who will rule England continues. As the fighting rages, the abbey in Winchester is destroyed and two of the displaced monks find their way to the Abbey of Saints Peter and Paul at Shrewsbury. Brother Humilis is a former crusader who is slowly dying of his wounds. He is accompanied by Brother Fidelis, a young mute who is devoted (for reasons unknown) to the care of Humilis. But their relationship is only one mystery. Another is what has happened to Julian Croce, a young woman fron a manor in the north of the shire who seems to have disappeared while on her way to join a convent near Winchester.
Peters books are a pleasure to read. She exhibits an elegant turn of phrase that. As someone else here has already remarked, she makes the "grim and gritty middle ages" sound like someplace you might actually want to live. And this is one of her better plots. I figured out what was going on about halfway through, but only because I got an unintentional hint from someone who had already read the book. Even so, it was a pleasure to watch the story unfold.
Elegant style and clever plotting aside, however, the story is a bit over-romanticized. For example, at one point Nicholas rides non-stop from Winchester to Shrewsbury, through both day and night and, finally, through a storm. He "must get his tale at once to the ears of authority" and he "dared not stop hating, or the remaining grief became more than he could stand." All this intense feeling over a girl he had only met once, three years earlier. Sorry if this makes me a chauvinist, but clearly this is a woman writing about how women wish men felt about them. This is the mystical ideal of chivalrous love. It isn't how a young man would really feel under such circumstances. This is typical of Peters and it doesn't really hurt the story, but it is a bit gushy and you can tell a woman wrote it. For a male reader, it's just a little over the top.
Peters is a charming writer. She paints a vivid, if somewhat romanticized, picture of life in the 1100's. Cadfael and the rest of her characters are congenial and her stories are light, but entertaining. The mysteries are sometimes a bit transparent, but not this one. This is one of her better ones. Cadfael fans will definitely enjoy it. Others should keep in mind that this is definitely a romantic mystery. Also, if you haven't read a Cadfael mystery before, you should consider starting at the beginning of the series. That said, I recommend "An Excellent Mystery" to those who like this type of story. It's better than most.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
angryoldman
5.0 out of 5 stars I am a fan of Cadfael and therefore Ellis Peters ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 2, 2017
Verified Purchase
I am a fan of Cadfael and therefore Ellis Peters. I find the books well crafted, well written and describing a period of English history not ofter visited by novelist. Its interesting that very few people refer to this Civil War when reviewing history yet its the precursor to the Wars of the Roses.
Report
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The death that wasn't?
Reviewed in Australia on December 18, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is a tale of a missing person and victims of war. People who lie and others who shade the truth. I did pick this one early on the piece this time though but I couldn't tell you where that happened. Good story with a happy ending.
Report
brown dog
5.0 out of 5 stars 美しい話でした
Reviewed in Japan on September 14, 2016
Verified Purchase
ミステリーとしても良い話でしたが、登場人物の美しい生き方に心が洗われました。
Report
insomniac
4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent mystery indeed
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2023
Verified Purchase
For once I actually figured it out before the denouement! Either extremely good writing (of course), carefully 'seeding' the clues, or I've got better at picking up those shadowy clues. Enjoyed this novel. Love Cadfael.
Report
Peter Starr
4.0 out of 5 stars This is an easy read and makes for an enjoyable and authentic-sounding escape ...
Reviewed in Australia on February 18, 2015
Verified Purchase
Ellis Peters always writes an interesting and fast moving tale set in a fascinating period of history. "Excellent Mystery" is no exception. Cadfael comes through as a warm, caring and clever character as does Hugh, the sheriff of that area. This makes a pleasant change because so often the ones with the power are bullies and quite evil. This is an easy read and makes for an enjoyable and authentic-sounding escape into England's turbulent past.
One person found this helpful
 Report