Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of The Sanctuary Sparrow (Brother Cadfael, Bk 7)

The Sanctuary Sparrow (Brother Cadfael, Bk 7)
The Sanctuary Sparrow - Brother Cadfael, Bk 7
Author: Ellis Peters
ISBN-13: 9780446404297
ISBN-10: 0446404292
Publication Date: 1/1/1995
Pages: 224
Rating:
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 66

4.1 stars, based on 66 ratings
Publisher: Mysterious Press
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

6 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Sanctuary Sparrow (Brother Cadfael, Bk 7) on + 88 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
#7 of this wonderful Brother Cadfael 12th century Welsh Borderlands series of not necessarily monastic mysteries.
reviewed The Sanctuary Sparrow (Brother Cadfael, Bk 7) on
This is a great series, and another great book in it
wgw avatar reviewed The Sanctuary Sparrow (Brother Cadfael, Bk 7) on + 136 more book reviews
Another in the great line of medieval mysteries by Ellis Peters.
hardtack avatar reviewed The Sanctuary Sparrow (Brother Cadfael, Bk 7) on + 2555 more book reviews
Alas, about one-third of the way through this book I remembered watching the video years ago. Unlike other Cadfael videos I saw, I remembered who the killer was in this novel.

Still, that didn't stop me from enjoying how Ellis Peters sets things up. This is a good one in that you are startled when the killer is revealed (unless you also saw the video).

Not all the Cadfael videos (not all the books were made into TV movies) follow all the plot themes, but it is pretty hard to change who the killer was.
havan avatar reviewed The Sanctuary Sparrow (Brother Cadfael, Bk 7) on + 138 more book reviews
Another great period mystery/detective story by Ellis Peters. This one was adapted for TV early in the Cadfael series and required that Abbot Radolphus be replaced by Abbot Hereford. Derek Jacoby as Brother Cadfael got to deliver most of the abbot's good lines. Other than that it was more faithful to the book than many of the TV episodes.

Both the book and the TV episode are eminantly entertaining and I can recommend both. Peters does a great job of evoking life in England at that time. ANd the book is as much an excuse to spend time in that period as to present and solve a mystery.

As always there are character details and subplots that had to be simplified for TV viewing so the book is a worthwhile read even if you are already familiar with the TV episode and vice versa.

This is the first book in which Brother Jerome appears that he's as hateful as he appears in the TV series.
LadyCrymsyn avatar reviewed The Sanctuary Sparrow (Brother Cadfael, Bk 7) on + 28 more book reviews
This is probably one of the most exciting books in the Cadfael series. As with most of the books of this series, it is not necessary to have read the previous books to be able to follow the actions and interactions of the characters.
The book opens with the peace of the monastery being disturbed during the evening prayers by a young man running in, pursued by the townsfolk. The man claims sanctuary, the right to be kept in the monastery for 40 days, and not turned over to the law. During these 40 days, Brother Cadfael begins to believe that the young man is not guilty of the crimes of murder and theft of which he has been accused.
The tension in this book mount subtly but steadily, as the violence in the town continues, and the time of sanctuary steadily ticks away.
All in all, an excellent read, and highly recommended.