Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our buddy read of The Devil's Novice first published in 1983 and the eighth book in the Cadfael series.

It is 1140. The Benedictine monastry at Shrewsbury finds its new novice Meriet Aspley a disturbing presence. Meek by day, his sleep is disturbed by violent nightmares that earn him the nickname of "Devil's Novice". Can he be involved with the disappearance of a superior prelate?

Please do not post spoilers in this thread. Thank you.

I have checked out the audio book from the library and have just barely started it. I am not used to the correct pronunciations of all the places and names, even Shropshire!

I enjoyed this book, and as I think I have said before it is not so much the plot, as the journey through the the times and life within and outside the monastery. Although there is a love story in this book, it is a different kind to that we have been used to expect from these books.

I always enjoy a revisit to Shrewsbury with Cadfael - this was no exception. I know some in the group feel the plots are rather “samey”, but that’s kind of what I find comforting about them! Not that I want to read boring books, but I feel a sense of continuity and comfort in this series. Cadfael tends the herb garden at the abbey, growing plants, making remedies to tend the sick in preparation for a long winter. His life, as with his fellows, varies according to the natural and liturgical seasons - creating a comforting, if repetitive, rhythm to life. Among the travails and terrors of civil war, there is some comfort in that continuity, and that connection with nature and the liturgical calendar.

I find it especially comforting to escape to Cadfael’s world in our uncertain times, turning off the horrible news for a bit, and visiting the golden, hazy, early autumn days in Cadfael’s herb garden. This series reread has become a comfort read for me, I wouldn’t read one right after another, but I like knowing that as we have left Cadfael in the cold early winter days of December, the next book will pick up later that winter, or early spring. I especially enjoy listening to the audiobooks narrated excellently by Patrick Tull.

I enjoyed Cadfael’s visits with Hugh Beringar, they make a great team, and loved seeing more of Brother Mark, he is a delightful character. There is a love story, (view spoiler)[But I’m not sure the young man is even aware he’s part of it until the end! I really enjoyed the strong-willed, sensible and smart young woman character, and her interchanges with Cadfael! She knows what she wants, and intends to get it. A wonderful resolution all round, I felt. (hide spoiler)]

@Susan in NC and Jill:

You two owe me $11! LOL. Thanks to your comments I just ordered this as I've never read it. If I keep reading your comments and reviews as well as those of others here I swear I'll have to move out of my apartment in order to make room for more books!

Susan you definitely make this sound very tempting! I really need to get further with Fingerpost before I start this though, as I will struggle to read two historical mysteries on Kindle at once!

Thom wrote: "@Susan in NC and Jill:

You two owe me $11! LOL. Thanks to your comments I just ordered this as I've never read it. If I keep reading your comments and reviews as well as those of others here I swe..."

Lol! Join the rest of us, Thom, with our teetering “TO READ” piles!😂

I hope you enjoy Cadfael- if it’s any consolation, and you haven’t read the earlier books in the series, the series is old enough that your city library might have them!

I feel your pain - since I joined the Detectives group, I’ve been introduced to several new-to-me golden age authors, and some have become favorites. I try to control myself, but did order several ECR Lorac paperback reissues last month as a birthday present - it was the only way I could get the titles! My library, scribd, Audible - not available. And British Library Crime Classics are not reissuing her books fast enough!

Judy wrote: "Susan you definitely make this sound very tempting! I really need to get further with Fingerpost before I start this though, as I will struggle to read two historical mysteries on Kindle at once!"

I agree, I tried Fingerpost multiple times, but once I realized I simply wasn’t getting on with it, Cadfael on audiobook was a natural next choice for me! Luckily, Scribd has the whole series, I believe, ebooks and audiobooks.

Susan in NC wrote: "Thom wrote: "@Susan in NC and Jill:

You two owe me $11! LOL. Thanks to your comments I just ordered this as I've never read it. If I keep reading your comments and reviews as well as those of othe..."

I had read some of them many years back when the series was running. But it's time I think to really get into them. And I would not mind owning a set of hardbacks. I have a decent amount of first editions and I might search for these as well.

I also just found a nice set of the Mapp and Lucia books to replace my trade paperbacks.

Thom wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Thom wrote: "@Susan in NC and Jill:

You two owe me $11! LOL. Thanks to your comments I just ordered this as I've never read it. If I keep reading your comments and reviews as w..."

Oh, I love EF Benson! Mapp and Lucia are brilliant.

Susan in NC, I love message #4! it expresses so well what I love about this series.
and it's genius that we are reading about mid September IN mid September!

Jackie wrote: "Susan in NC, I love message #4! it expresses so well what I love about this series.
and it's genius that we are reading about mid September IN mid September!"

Thanks- that’s what I thought as I was reading it! My husband and I try to walk several times a week at a lovely wooded park nearby, and I found myself looking for color starting in the trees, and golden sunlight filtering down through the canopy - I love Peters’ descriptions of the natural setting! I want to try her other series to see if she captures the beauty of nature there, as well.

I've actually changed my mind and started this book while still reading Fingerpost, as that one is taking me such a long time and they are both library loans on Kindle. Pleased to be back to Cadfael and his world.

I gave up on the audio book and am now reading it on Kindle. I am just not settled enough where I live to enjoy listening to a book, apparently. So I am starting over. I've read this book before but it's been so long I don't remember what happens.
I do know I will enjoy it!

If it helps, Jackie, I generally do audiobooks for rereads, so I can knit or do housework or do monotonous exercise (like a stationary bike), I have often a vague memory of what happens, so I don’t have to really concentrate. If it’s a new book for me, I often enjoy listening while reading a Kindle or physical book, because I’ve found the narrator appealing, and I find their acting it out adds to the experience, adds context for me. When I’ve been lucky enough to find Hugh Fraser or Emilia Fox for a Christie, or Patrick Tull reading Cadfael - and I’ve found a few excellent narrators of Heyer novels in reading for that group. And of course if I’m reading a classic, like Bleak House (trying to finally complete it after several starts over last few years!), there are several wonderful narrations available.

Unfortunately, I’m finding with my favorite Heyer narrator Phyllida Nash, some of her audiobooks have disappeared from Audible. I don’t know if it’s a copyright problem or what, but I’m mad at myself for not snapping them up on Audible when they were available!

Main thing is, I think listening to a book is a pleasure only if you enjoy it - my mother hated being read to, never understood the appeal of audiobooks. Oddly, I’ve only really gotten into them in the last few years, in my 50s, since brain surgery caused me to lose hearing in one ear. I guess since I enjoy listening while doing other things - I couldn’t do it in a crowded room, no earphones for me! I just play my book on my iPad or iPhone LOUD while I do whatever I’m doing!

it helps, Susan, I have a very strong feeling I would love audio books but not right now where I am currently living.

Jackie wrote: "it helps, Susan, I have a very strong feeling I would love audio books but not right now where I am currently living."

Good, I hope you have the opportunity to try them out soon. Meanwhile, enjoy reading Cadfael - a lovely experience any way I can visit with him.

I'm about a third of the way through now and enjoying the whole atmosphere, as usual. Loved your description of Cadfael in the herb garden, Susan.

Judy wrote: "I'm about a third of the way through now and enjoying the whole atmosphere, as usual. Loved your description of Cadfael in the herb garden, Susan."

Thanks! I must admit, watching Sir Derek as Cadfael many years ago, in the beautifully filmed series, then reading the books soon after, got me hooked on both historical mysteries and gardening! In the second pursuit, I’ve never achieved near Cadfael’s level of skill, but I still love to putter around my pots on the patio, noticing the shift in sunlight, the plants that are spent and need tidying away, ready for winter, the changes in the air, the birds and squirrel behavior, etc. it’s such a peaceful, almost meditative experience! I think Peters does a delightful job evoking the seasons! Between health issues, and then the pandemic, I’m much more a homebody over the last several years - I have found a much greater appreciation for slowing down, observing nature around me.

yes, any book from this series is a good choice for pandemic reading. it's really never about the plot, it's the whole world she tells us about. A better world than this one, despite the civil war.

I read the reviews of GR friends who are into science fiction, and they refer to the author’s “world building” - I think that is equally important with historical mysteries and fiction. The author isn’t creating the historical period, of course, but it makes a difference for my enjoyment if they evoke it well, and accurately. I always feel Peters had done her research, knew her period, and it was reflected in a delightful, immersive reading experience!

I am finally starting this after finishing Fingerpost and, like others, glad to be back with Cadfael. I agree life in the abbey is restful and a good antidote for today's turmoil, but life outside the abbey is much more fraught with danger and upset.

I'm now about halfway through and was pleased to re-meet Brother Mark and revisit the leper colony. So far I'm not at all sure whodunit or what will happen next.