These Ellis Peter’s mysteries are like a soap opera with continuing characters and an established setting. It’s nice in a way to see people’s lives develop over time. It’s also nice to read a book that says "remember last year when such and such happened?" Provided you’ve read the previous books. It might be annoying if you haven’t.

St. Peter’s Fair picks up the spring following Monk’s Hood. Every summer, the abbey hosts a fair which provides a huge amount of its annual income. Last year (in One Corpse Too Many) the fair was preempted by war (an actual which raged in England between King Steven and Empress Maud for about 30 years before Maud’s son ended up on the throne.) The war has done a lot of damage to the town and the city elders, led by Geoffrey Corviser the town provost, appeal to the abbey to give them a tithe (one tenth) of the fair earnings toward repairs. The new Abbot (who arrived at the end of Monk’s Hood) turns them down flat and doesn’t explain himself. The elders go away mad.

Later, merchants are unloading their wares at the river dock when a group of young men and boys (including some sons of the elders) arrive on the scene to appeal to the merchants. One merchant in particular ends up at the forefront. Thomas of Bristol is a wealthy wine merchant and he’s quite sure of himself. Philip Corviser, son of Geoffrey, leads this delegation and when he is summarily dismissed by Thomas, he reaches out to touch his shoulder. Thomas overreacts and whacks him a good one with his walking stick, starting a brawl. Philip is carried out of the brawl half insensible from the smack on the head. He’s later heard threatening vengeance on Thomas and when Thomas’ body is discovered floating nude in the river the next morning with a neat puncture about where his heart is, Philip is the obvious culprit, which basically means he couldn’t possibly have done it. And we have the bonus mystery of why was Thomas killed?

As always, Peters research is flawless. The political background is very accurate, giving a really good sense of what it was like for people to carry on with their lives when the throne (for all intents and purposes) was up for grabs. There is also a sense that the nobles are ready to jump at any time to which ever side seems to be winning. The research that supported the fair was also good. While you don’t get a great sense of what a medieval fair was like, it doesn’t get completely ignored in favor of the mystery. And it’s not a historical treatise anyway.

I did not like that fact that we could read just about all the character’s minds. I hadn’t noticed this in the previous books in the series, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. In this one it seemed like everybody had thoughts they were willing to share with no one but the reader. It’s a minor flaw, but it bothered me to have Ellis state, he thought this or that, instead of letting us figure it our for ourselves. After all it is a mystery.

Ok, so I had it figured out way before Cadfael, it was still a satisfying mystery. I didn’t find myself annoyed that the characters were so blind that they couldn’t see what was right in front of their faces. At the same time, I wasn’t annoyed that the murderer was not around to be picked out. You know the kind, you can see the murderer all the way through the book, but the detective doesn’t lay eyes on him/her/it until they catch him. That’s no mystery, that’s something else (and when I finish reading The Fourth Angel I’ll try to figure out what that something else is.)

Give Peters a try. I suggest you start with the first Cadfael mystery A Morbid Taste For Bones, but after that head on out for the others (at least as far as the fourth chronicle.) Over all they’re light, entertaining reads that don’t disappoint the most demanding reader. Me.


Recommended: Yes