Dead Man's Ransom: The Ninth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael

The year is 1141 and civil war continues to rage. When the sheriff of Shropshire is taken prisoner, arrangements are made to exchange him for Elis, a young Welshman. But when the sheriff is brought to the abbey, he is murdered. Suspicion falls on Elis, who has fallen in love with the sheriff's daughter. With nothing but his Welsh honor to protect him, Elis appeals to Brother Cadfael for help. And Brother Cadfael gives it, not knowing that the truth will be a trial for his own soul.

Ellis Peters is the nom de plume used by author Edith Pargeter to write her bestselling 'Brother Cadfael' historical mysteries. Inspired by her interest in Shropshire history, she penned the first novel, A Morbid Taste for Bones, in 1977. This was followed by seventeen more novels and one book of short stories starring the crusader turned monk with a talent for detection. In 1993, she was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement, and in 1999 the CWA established the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award (for the best historical crime novel of the year) in her honour. She was awarded an OBE in 1994 for services to literature. Ellis Peters died in 1995, aged 82.