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The Leper of Saint Giles

The Fifth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael

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The Leper of Saint Giles

By: Ellis Peters
Narrated by: Johanna Ward
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About this listen

 Setting out for the Saint Giles leper colony outside Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael has more pressing matters on his mind than the grand wedding coming to his abbey. Yet as fate would have it, Cadfael arrives at Saint Giles just as the nuptial party passes the colony's gates. He sees the fragile bride looking like a prisoner between her two stern guardians and the bridegroom, an arrogant, fleshy aristocrat old enough to be her grandfather. And he quickly discerns this union may be more damned than blessed. Indeed, a savage murder will interrupt the May-December marriage and leave Brother Cadfael with a dark, terrible mystery to solve. For the key to the killing - and a secret - are hid among the lepers of Saint Giles. Now Brother Cadfael's skills must ferret out a sickness, not of the body, but of a twisted soul - in the fifth Brother Cadfael Chronicle, a work that displays Ellis Peters' special genius at her best.©1981 by Ellis Peters (P)1998 by Blackstone Audiobooks Historical Fiction Mystery Traditional Detectives Fiction Detective

Critic Reviews

"Each addition to the series is a joy. Long may the Chronicles continue." (USA Today)
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If you really want the best of Ellis Peters, go for the male narrators.. they really suit the books. However there are two freebies, both by women narrators. I could not listen to the other one and gave up. This one, however, was perfectly listenable, unless, according to some other reviews, you're really familiar with Welsh accents which I'm not.
The story itself is enjoyable and holds attention. I've read all of the Ellis Peters books in the past and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Good, especially as a freebie

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The narrator brings Ellis Peters’ delightful story to life.

Cadfael Chronicles readers will know that there are some formulaic elements to Peters’ stories (this one includes her standard theme of young lovers torn apart by unjust murder accusations), but each murder mystery holds its own twists and turns. All her characters, reoccurring and new, make an entertaining cast, and the context of the Anarchy acts as an eventful historical background.

An all round enjoyable audiobook.

Standard enjoyable Cadfael Chronicles fare

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Satisfyingly crafted story with romance, medieval monks and murder, what more could one want? Well narrated with good sound quality and accomplished voice acting. Well worth a listen.

Well crafted story

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