Saint Peter’s Fair (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #4), Ellis Peters. New York: MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Integrated Media, 2014, (originally published 1981).

Summary: The murder of a merchant from Bristol during Saint Peter’s Fair is the first of a string of break-ins culminating in another murder; even while two young men vie for the attentions of the merchant’s bereaved niece.

It is the year after Shrewsbury was beseiged and the town is still recovering from the grievous effects of their loss and submission to King Stephen. For the abbey, it is time to play host to Saint Peter’s Fair, a time when merchants come from around both England and nearby Wales to sell their wares to feasting and games and other forms of celebration. It would seem a time to forget the troubles of the past but not for the town fathers, who see the revenues going to the abbey by grant of the king that could have helped rebuild the town. They confront the new abbot, Radulfus, who hears them out but will not deviate from the provisions of their grant, much to the townsmen’s dismay.

In this first encounter, Radulfus appears rigid and caring more about law than good relations. But don’t write him off too soon. He’s careful, shrewd, and as we will see, caring.

The scene shifts to the fair. Cadfael is helping interpret for a Welshmen when a conflict breaks out. Younger men of the town approach one of the richest of vendors, Thomas of Bristol, to see if he and the other vendors will give what the abbot refuses. The young men are led by Philip Corviser, son of the man who led the delegation to the abbey. Thomas brusquely refuses them, Philip grasps his sleave to attempt to reason once more. Thomas reacts by striking him a heavy blow with a staff, sending Thomas reeling and resulting in a riot, with Cadfael judiciously intervening to get Thomas and his attractive niece, Emma, away from the melee.

That night, Emma comes to Cadfael. Thomas has not returned to their barge after setting up his stall at the fair. A search turns up Thomas’s body stripped naked in the Severn with his belongings nearby. He doesn’t appear to have been robbed but he’s been strangled. Philip, who has been drinking to deaden the pain from the blow he suffered has been speaking murderous threats, but is drunk. The authorities find him sleeping it off in a forest glade and arrest him.

But strange things keep going on. Someone searches Thomas’s barge, breaks into his stall and ties up the guard, and even searches inside Thomas’s casket. Then, another merchant is found dead in his stall, and his belongings also strewn about. Whoever it was suffered a torn cotte and a knife wound to the arm before succeeding at murder. It appears something is being searched for, and that Philip, who has been in jail, has no part of this. He joins Cadfael and Hugh Beringar in the search for the real murder or murderers, and locates the site where Thomas was murdered and dragged to the river, not far from where he had fallen asleep in a drunken stupor the night of the murder.

Cadfael has been charged by the abbot to aid the investigation. He secures Emma with Aline Beringar, Hugh’s wife. This doesn’t protect her from the attentions of young men, especially the wealthy estate holder, Ivo Corbiere, but also the humbler Philip, who doubts his chances. And Emma has not told Cadfael or Hugh all–namely the letter she carries that will endanger her life.

All this results in a page-turning climax as Hugh and Cadfael, assisted by Philip, and word from Brother Mark of a man he treated with a knife cut up his arm, piece together the clues as to the identity of the murderer and realize that Emma is in great jeopardy. One of the strong aspects of the story is the developing relationship of Cadfael and Hugh, two men with different callings and yet common values, who value each other’s company. Under the influence of Cadfael and Hugh, we see Philip grow up from the impulsive hothead at the beginning of the story to a chastened and rapidly maturing young man. But will these principled men be able to save Emma from a clearly ruthless murderer who will do anything to obtain the document Emma carries?