Dead Man's Ransom

March 4, 1986
In this mystery featuring 12th-century Brother Cadfael, a Welsh lord captured by the English is to be exchanged for Gilbert Prestcote, sheriff of Shropshire, who is held by the Welsh. When Prestcote dies in Welsh hands, Cadfael suspects murder and reveals the motives of the captors. PW commented: "Peters's local color is at its most engaging in the tangled family trees that sprawl across a contentious border.''

The cognoscenti know that Brother Cadfael, the Benedictine monk, practices medicine and solves crimes in medieval Britain. When a wounded Welsh POW is brought to him for treatment, he turns out to be a nobleman's son who can be exchanged for a captive of the Welsh. But before a swap can be finalized, murder foils the plans, and Cadfael must ferret out the guilty party. Philip Madoc, a mild and robust Cadfael, performs with an admirable cast in a typically workmanlike BBC Radio production. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine