"In the summer of 1138, war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud takes Brother Cadfael from the quiet world of his garden into a battlefield of passions, deceptions, and death. Not far from the safety of the abbey walls, Shrewsbury Castle falls, leaving its ninety-four defenders loyal to the empress to hang as traitors. With a heavy heart, Brother Cadfael agrees to bury the dead, only to make a grisly discovery: one extra victim that has been...

The winter of 1139 will disrupt Brother Cadfael's tranquil life in Shrewsbury, as raging civil war has sent refugees fleeing north from Worcester. Among them are two young orphans from a noble family and their companion, a young Benedictine nun. The trio, never reaching Shrewsbury, have disappeared somewhere in the wild countryside.

Cadfael feels afraid for these three lost lambs, but another call for help sends him to the Church of Saint Mary.

...

In the year 1140, Peter Clemence, a political envoy on a mission to help prevent the dismemberment of England, is found murdered and suspicion centers on Meriet Aspley, a young novice in Brother Cadfael's abbey.

"In the year of our Lord 1141, civil war over England's throne leaves a legacy of violence- and the murder of a knight dear to Brother Cadfael. And with gentle budstrewn May, a flood of pilgrims comes to the celebration of Saint Winifred at the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, carrying with it many strange souls and perhaps the knight's killer. Brother Cadfael's shrewd eyes see all: the prosperous merchant who rings false, and angelic lame boy,...

It is Christmas in 1141 when Abbot Radulfus brings a priest from London to take over the vacant living of Holy Cross, but when he is found drowned in the millpond, Brother Cadfael discovers an imposter among them and must sort out the complicated strands of innocence and guilt.

“Bodies and red herrings pile up in a satisfying way” in the Silver Dagger Award–winning medieval mystery series starring Brother Cadfael (Library Journal).
The year is 1142, and England is in the grip of civil war. Within the cloisters of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, there begins a chain of events no less momentous than the upheavals of the outside world.
 
It starts with...

Charges of heresy and murder are complicated by the contents of a mysterious treasure chest
In the summer of 1143, William of Lythwood arrives at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, but it is not a joyous occasion—he’s come back from his pilgrimage in a coffin. William’s body is accompanied by his young attendant Elave, whose mission is to secure a burial place for his master on the abbey grounds, despite...

English monk and detective Brother Cadfael welcomes the excitement of a diplomatic excursion to Wales until he is captured by a vengeful Danish prince.

While Cadfael has bent Abbey rules, he has never broken his monastic vows--until now. Word has come to Shrewsbury of a treacherous act that has left 30 of Maud's knights imprisoned. All have been ransomed except Cadfael's secret son, Olivier. Conceived in Cadfael's soldiering youth and unaware of his father's identity, Olivier will die if he is not freed.