A Morbid Taste for Bones

Edith Pargeter, writing under the nom-de-crime of Ellis Peters, has once again crafted a suspenseful mystery full of humor and insight into human nature. Her stories of Brother Cadfael and his fellow brothers of the cowl give one a rare view into the workings of the medieval mind and a curious and often turbulent time in the history of England. She writes with a zest for the curious, laughable, and often all-too-human quirks that even the holiest of monks can display, and an interesting view of the miracles and prayers to saints that were a central part of medieval worship.
I appreciate that she writes with both a respect and reverence for the historical church, while still offering glimpses of the common foibles of human men of God. She creates characters who often highlight the dangers of ecclesiastical pride, and targets the pitfalls of those who used the blind beliefs of the uneducated as a key to amassing their own personal influence and power.
Her treatment of the Welsh passions and culture, so foreign to Cadfael's fellow monks, showed a clear understanding of the wisdom of Welsh culture, and the reason the Welsh church avoided many of the faults of its English counterpart.
I loved the name Sioned, and wish I knew how to pronounce it. I do know that the Welsh 'd' is pronounced as a 'th' sound.
The plot of Cadfael to use Sioned and her Welsh beauty to spellbind a gullible priest was a fitting end to a great mystery. All in all, an enjoyable book.