{"id":11123,"date":"2018-09-27T16:33:35","date_gmt":"2018-09-27T20:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=11123"},"modified":"2025-07-02T16:19:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T20:19:56","slug":"dead-mans-ransom-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11123","title":{"rendered":"Dead Man’s Ransom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dead Man’s Ransom<\/a><\/em> (1984) Ellis Peters<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in England in 1141.<\/p>\n

The war between Stephen and Maud still flares across the countryside, and in one of the battles Gilbert Prestcote, the sheriff of Shrewsbury, is wounded and taken prisoner by the Welsh. Meanwhile, a band of Welsh raiders have been attacking the countryside, and one of the raiders falls prisoner in an attack on an outlying area.<\/p>\n

That was more than enough. \u201cA parcel of women,\u201d said Cadfael in loud and indignant Welsh, \u201cwho pulled you out of the flood and squeezed your lordship dry, and pummelled the breath back into you. And if you cannot find a civil word of thanks to them, in a language they\u2019ll understand, you are the most ungrateful brat who ever disgraced Wales. And that you may know it, my fine paladin, there\u2019s nothing older nor uglier than ingratitude. Nor sillier, either, seeing I\u2019m minded to rip that dressing off you and let you burn for the graceless limb you are.\u201d <\/p>\n

The young man was bolt upright on his stone bench by this time, his mouth fallen open, his half-formed, comely face stricken into childishness. He stared and swallowed, and slowly flushed from breast to brow.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oops!<\/p>\n

Hugh hopes that a trade can be made for the two prisoners, and Cadfael, as Welsh born, is sent north to talk to Owan Gwynedd.<\/p>\n

They mystery is interesting, the murderer unexpected, romance blooms, and at the heart of everything is Cadfael.<\/p>\n

\u201cMortal man should be able and willing to delegate at any moment,\u201d said Cadfael soberly, \u201csince mortal he is.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And his observations.<\/p>\n

The other two burned like candles, eating their own substance and giving an angry and vulnerable light.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One that would always fall on his feet. Two that probably made a practice of falling over theirs, from too intense peering ahead, and too little watching where they trod.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I do enjoy this series very much, and I like that the culprit is never quite what or who you expect.<\/p>\n

Publisher: MysteriousPress
\nRating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dead Man’s Ransom (1984) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1141. The war between Stephen and Maud still flares across the countryside, and in one of the battles Gilbert Prestcote, the sheriff of Shrewsbury, is wounded and taken prisoner by the Welsh. Meanwhile, a band of Welsh raiders have been attacking the countryside, and one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12,30,190,292,33,8,41,26],"tags":[120,119,549,877,878],"class_list":["post-11123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-10","category-british","category-cozy","category-ebook","category-historical","category-mystery","category-reread","category-romance","tag-brother-cadfael","tag-ellis-peters","tag-high-middle-ages","tag-medieval","tag-the-anarchy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2Tp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23946,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23946","url_meta":{"origin":11123,"position":0},"title":"Dead Man’s Ransom","author":"Michelle","date":"September 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Dead Man's Ransom (1984) Ellis Peters (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #9) Set in Shropshire, England and Wales in 1141 \"If none of us ever fell short, or put a foot astray,\" said Cadfael sadly, \"everything would be good in this great world, but we stumble and fall, every one. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Dead Man's Ransom","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Dead-Mans-Ransom.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6129,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/6129","url_meta":{"origin":11123,"position":1},"title":"Dead Man’s Ransom","author":"Michelle","date":"October 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Dead Man's Ransom (1984) Ellis Peters Set in England and Wales in 1141. The civil war continues to tear through England, reaching back towards Shrewsbury, where Hugh and the local sheriff are sent off to fight against the Earls of Chester and Lincoln as well as a marauder from Wales.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"dead-mans-ransom","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Dead-Mans-Ransom.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6170,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/6170","url_meta":{"origin":11123,"position":2},"title":"The Summer of the Danes","author":"Michelle","date":"November 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Summer of the Danes (1991) Ellis Peters Set in Wales in 1144. This story is quite different from others in this series. Like the first, it is set in Wales, but instead of a peaceful search for a saint, there is a possibility of a fight between brothers and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"the-summer-of-the-danes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/The-Summer-of-the-Danes.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11915,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11915","url_meta":{"origin":11123,"position":3},"title":"The Summer of the Danes","author":"Michelle","date":"May 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Summer of the Danes (1991) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1144. Cadfael and Brother Mark travel to Wales, to meet with (and support) two new bishops. But they end up caught up in an unexpected fight: Prince Owain Gwynedd and his brother Cadwaladr. \u201cBrothers have been the ruin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"the-summer-of-the-danes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/The-Summer-of-the-Danes.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24200,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24200","url_meta":{"origin":11123,"position":4},"title":"The Summer of the Danes","author":"Michelle","date":"January 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Summer of the Danes (1991) Ellis Peters (The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #18) Set in Wales in 1144 It is a blessed thing, on the whole, to live in slightly dull times, especially after disorder, siege and bitter contention. Have you ever seen the sea?\u201d \u201cNo. How could I?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Summer of the Danes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/The-Summer-of-the-Danes.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6106,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/6106","url_meta":{"origin":11123,"position":5},"title":"A Morbid Taste for Bones","author":"Michelle","date":"October 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977) Ellis Peters Set in England and Wales in ~1137. I picked this up on sale--and by accident. I'd confused Ellis Peters with Peter Tremayne (whose real name was Peter Berresford Ellis, so it's not that ridiculous of a mistake) and so picked up a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"a-morbid-taste-for-bones","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/A-Morbid-Taste-for-Bones.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11123\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}