Peter Ellis: The Monk's Hood

Brother Cadfael must solve a murder committed with a poison he mixed himself

It is December 1138 and the Shrewsbury monastery is preparing for the arrival of a new abbot. Before that, however, the landowner Gervase Bonel moves behind its walls and promises to bequeath his property to the Benedictine order in exchange for a small house and provision for his old age. Prior Robert sends him half a roast partridge as a welcome gift. But a few mouthfuls are enough to make Bonel so sick that not even the herbalist Brother Cadfael and the nurse Edmund can help him. The two monks soon come to the conclusion that the dish has been poisoned, and by none other than the omnium ointment made by Cadfael himself. Royal Investigator Will Warden is called to the case and his suspicion immediately falls on Bonel's stepson Edwin. Not only did he have access to the poisonous ointment and participate directly in the dinner, but he is still Bonel's sole heir due to the monastery's suspended transactions. Cadfael, who was intimate with his mother Richildis in his youth, does not believe in his guilt.