The Summer of the Danes (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, #18)

In the summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England. The armies of King Stephen and Empress Maud have temporarily exhausted each other. Brother Cadfael considers peace a blessing, but a little excitement never comes amiss to a former soldier and Cadfael is delighted to accompany his young friend, Brother Mark, on a mission of church diplomacy to his native Wales, not expecting to be caught up in yet another royal feud. The Welsh prince Owain Gwynedd has banished his brother Cadwaladr, accusing him of the treacherous murder of an ally. The reckless Cadwaldr has retaliated by landing an army of Danish mercenaries, poised to invade Wales and retake his lost lands. As the two armies teeter on the brink of bloody civil war, Cadfael is captured by the Danes together with a headstrong young woman fleeing an arranged marriage, but before he can untangle such domestic passions, Cadfael has to survive the brotherly quarrel that could plunge an entire kingdom into deadly chaos. In the summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England--almost a peace. For several months there has been little actual fighting between the forces of King Stephen and those of Empress Maud, the two royal cousins contending for the throne. On the whole, Brother Cadfael considers it a blessing to live in these peaceful times. Still, a little excitement--and some time spent outside the abbey walls--is always welcome. Cadfael is delighted when he is called upon to carry out a mission of church diplomacy to his native Wales; that his fellow traveler will be his young friend, Brother Mark, adds to his pleasure. Shortly after their arrival, the two monks are caught up in a dangerous disagreement between Welsh princes. Owain Gwynedd has banished his brother Cadwaladr, accusing him of the treacherous murder of an ally. The rash Cadwaladr has landed an army of Danish mercenaries, poised to invade Wales and retake his lost lands. Cadfael is captured by the Danes. His fellow prisoner is a headstrong young woman fleeing an arranged marriage--who may or may not have been involved in the murder of a prisoner in Owain's camp. The monk knows that chances of escape are slim. He has no hope of returning to Shrewsbury until a truce is declared or full-scale war breaks out--and a murderer is brought to justice. SUMMARY: To tie in with the hardcover release of Peters' The Benediction of Brother Cadfael, here is the 18th entry in the eminently successful medieval detective series. In the summer of 1144, Brother Cadfael is sent to Wales on church business and is captured by Danes. And when a prisoner is murderer, the clever monk knows he'll not see Shrewsbury again until the killer is caught. Fiction,Historical,General,Mystery & Detective,Historical fiction,Suspense,History,Mystery fiction,Monks,Mystery & Detective - General,Mystery and detective stories,Great Britain,Detective,Fiction - Mystery,Traditional British,Mystery & Detective - Traditional British,Mystery,Cadfael; Brother (Fictitious character),Stephen; 1135-1154,Shrewsbury (England),Talking books,Herbalists,Great Britain - History - Stephen; 1135-1154 In the summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England. The armies of King Stephen & Empress Maud, the two royal cousins contending for the throne, have temporarily exhausted each other. On the whole, Brother Cadfael considers peace a blessing & agrees to accompany a friend to Wales. When Cadfael is captured by an army of Danish mercenaries, he finds himself in the midst of a brotherly quarrel that could plunge an entire kingdom into deadly chaos.--Publisher's description them, whether from exhaustion or policy, and a strange calm had settled over the country, almost peace. In the Fens, the raging outlaw Geoffrey de Mandeville, every man's enemy, was still at liberty, but a liberty constricted by the king's new encircling fortresses, and increasingly vulnerable. English monk and detective Brother Cadfael welcomes the excitement of a diplomatic excursion to Wales until he is captured by a vengeful Danish prince