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Summary: Things are not peaceful in Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury Castle has fallen to King Stephen, and the king orders all of its 94 defenders to be hung as an example. The Abbey agrees to bury the poor souls, whose only crime was that they chose the losing side. During the gruesome task of preparing the bodies for burial, Brother Cadfael comes across an extra body among the defenders. This one was not hung, like the rest, but stabbed. King Stephen takes this murder as a personal insult, and intends to find the murderer. It is left, however, to Cadfael to do the detecting.

    I love this particular story because of the way it blends fiction and fact. The hanging of the 94 defenders of Shrewsbury Castle actually did happen. The author uses the fictional other body, which most people would overlook, figuring one more or less does not matter, and builds it up into something more important than first meets the eye. Written by: Lava