Monks Hood

Gervase Bonel, with his wife and servants, is a guest of Shrewsbury Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul when he is suddenly taken ill. Luckily, the Abbey boasts the services of the clever and kindly Brother Cadfael, a skilled herbalist. Cadfael hurries to the mans bedside, only to be confronted by two very different surprises. In Master Bonels wife, he good monk recognises Richildis, whom he loved many years ago before he took his vows, and Master Bonel has been fatallly poisoned by a dose of deadly monks-hood oil from Cadfaels herbarium. The Sherrif is convinced that the murdered is Richildis son Edwin, who had reasons aplenty to hate his stepfather. But Cadfael, guided in part by his tender concern for a woman to whom he was once betrothed, is certain of her sons innocence. Using his knowledge of both herbs and the human heart, Cadfael deciphers a deadly recipe for murder.

Categories: Literary Fiction