A Morbid Taste for Bones

• Author: Ellis Peters
• Genre: Historical Mystery
• Publication Date: February 1, 2014
• Publisher: Recorded Books
• Series: Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #1

In the remote Welsh mountain village of Gwytherin lies the grave of Saint Winifred. Now, in 1137, the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey has decided to acquire the sacred remains for his Benedictine order. Native Welshman Brother Cadfael is sent on the expedition to translate and finds the rustic villagers of Gwytherin passionately divided by the Benedictine’s offer for the saint’s relics. Canny, wise, and all too wordly, he isn’t surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder.

The leading opponent to moving the grave has been shot dead with a mysterious arrow, and some say Winifred herself held the bow. Brother Cadfael knows a carnal hand did the killing. But he doesn’t know that his plan to unearth a murderer may dig up a case of love and justice…where the wages of sin may be scandal or Cadfael’s own ruin.

I first saw this book at my library, but couldn’t fit one more book into the stack I was holding. Instead, I put it on my TBR and proceeded to forget about it for years. It’s an older book, originally published in 1977, and I opted to read the audiobook.

Patrick Tull narrates, and he does a great job with all the different characters and accents, both English and Welsh, and I’m really glad that I chose the audiobook since I am not familiar with Welsh and the pronunciation of the names and words. Tull does an outstanding job with the different accents and voices.

This book blends historical fiction and mystery, although the two aspects didn’t always feel connected for me. For one, Brother Cadfael and his fellow monks head to Wales to retrieve the bones of a saint that the abbey head wants to acquire. There is a lot of conflict between the people of Gwytherin, some of whom fiercely oppose the transfer of the relics, while others are okay with it. This creates a lot of conflict that persists throughout the novel: there are a lot of monastery and religious politics surrounding Saint Winifred and her bones that come into play in the story, and I found myself drifting during some of the more dry and repetitive discussion.

Starting with a slower pace, Peters allows readers to get to know the major characters and the different conflicts being set up before the murder actually occurs, at about a third of the way through. The murdered man had been the most vociferous opponent to allowing the brothers to take the relics, and then he is found shot with an arrow. While some of them think that Saint Winifred shot him herself, Brother Cadfael isn’t convinced and decides to do some investigating. There is also a romance that occurs during the book and a blood feud stemming from the murder according to Welsh customs of the time, but none of these different elements were fully meshed, feeling a bit disconnected from the others.

My favorite part of the book was Brother Cadfael himself. Unlike his fellow Benedictine monks, he wound up as a brother after some life experiences—fighting in the Crusades, traveling, and *gasp* even having sex with women. But now that he has dedicated his life to being a monk, he is in charge of the gardens and healing herbs, known for both his gardening skills and healing ability. Additionally, he also seems to engage in a bit of investigation as a side hustle. However, detective work in 1137 was very different than it is today. I was impressed with how Cadfael conducted his investigation, starting when the body was first found and he was able to determine that the body had been moved through awareness of the weather and surroundings, plenty of common sense, and a dash of luck.

Unfortunately, some of the side characters really blended together for me. While the main characters are portrayed as complex and well-rounded, there are a few side characters who are flat and don’t have a lot of substance. There were parts of the book that were a little dry, and the romance was minimal, which felt about right for a time when women were married off to an advantageous match. Sioned has two suitors who are vying for her, but she honestly didn’t really seem too connected to either of them for most of the story. 

Overall, this was an intriguing start to a series, and I have to admit that I’d like to read the next book in the series. I already like the character of Brother Cadfael, and am curious to see what happens next for him, although the monastery and church politics isn’t as fascinating to me as the mystery aspects. In this book, Cadfael goes digging to find a murderer, and winds up uncovering way more than he expected to find, including a potential scandal for the town and monastery. I also really liked how the ending was a bit morally ambiguous leaning towards moral grayness, and how much of their own mind the brothers retain, thinking critically about various issues. This is one series I’m not waiting years to continue reading, and will have to check out sooner rather than later.

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