Rather he is building up his own stores at Wolvesey Castle in Winchester in case he is besieged, and rebuilding his alliance with Queen Matilda, now leading King Stephen's armies.

In this hot, dry August 1141, Cadfael brings Brother Oswin to his term at the leper house at Saint Giles.

Cadfael recognizes Humilis as local man Godfrid Marescot, who joined the Crusades years earlier, gaining a reputation for valour.

Nicholas's quest brings him first to her family home; then to the convent at Wherwell, which she planned to join after Godfrid ended the betrothal; back to the family home to learn of the men who escorted her; to Winchester, with the Bishop's blessing, to seek the goods she carried as a gift to the convent that never heard word of her; each time returning to Shrewsbury Abbey with his news.

Hugh agrees to seek the missing escort Adam Heriet, a man-at-arms since the overlord called for more men from Reginald.

Just after the ceremony, Sister Magdalene of Godric's Ford Benedictine cell arrives with a letter addressed to Hugh from Lady Julian, now at Polesworth Abbey.

Two days later, Lady Julian arrives for the Mass said in honor of the lost brothers, walking unrecognized past the men with whom she had lived for weeks.

She wore the gold ring on her finger, and was dressed by Aline and Sister Magdalene to hide her tonsure.

Kirkus Reviews finds this a superbly crafted story, with a mystery that tests Cadfael and keeps the reader's attention to the resolution: Eleventh of the author's civilized, imaginative forays into 12th-century England and, once again, we have the clever sleuthing of warm, wise Benedictine monk Brother Cadfael (The Sanctuary Sparrow, etc.).

How the lost is found, with numerous surprising ramifications that bear on the puzzle, tests Cadfael's wits and ingenuity to the limit and provides the reader with unflagging tension, which builds to a sweeping, satisfying climax.

[2]Library Journal, reviewing an audio version read by Stephen Thorne, has praise for the narrator in making medieval language sound natural: An Excellent Mystery, also set in 1141, is a close sequel to Pilgrim of Hate.

When the Benedictine abbey at Winchester is ravaged by fire, two Brothers of the order seek sanctuary at Shrewsbury.

Brother Humilis was a famous knight crusader before a nearly fatal wound led to his retirement from the secular world.

Stephen Thorne, who reads both novels, has a feel for Peters's distinctive prose style, making her use of medieval phrasing and vocabulary sound genuine and natural rather than "historical."

Thorne voices the large number of characters and accents in each book with precision, making each unique.

[4] The events in An Excellent Mystery take place in August 1141 during the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud, known as the Anarchy.

Henry Bishop of Winchester was younger brother to King Stephen, and like him, cousin to Empress Maud.

Fortunes turned at the rout of Winchester with the taking of the Empress's strongest ally by Queen Matilda's army.

The two monks arrive in Shrewsbury from the Abbey of Hyde-Mead because it had burned completely in the start of the battles in Winchester.

Hugh Beringar's pursuit of Adam Heriet is made easy because it occurs in the time after the Rout of Winchester, when armies are scattered, a lull in the battles while negotiations begin for the exchange of the King imprisoned seven months, and the newly-taken Robert of Gloucester.

Harnage's travels seeking the Lady Julian take him to Romsey Abbey, about 200 miles south on modern roads from Shrewsbury, and near Winchester.

Lady Julian Cruce waited at Polesworth Abbey, the mother house for the Godric's Ford cell of nuns.

That real nunnery (until the dissolution of the monasteries) is about 60 miles on modern roads from Shrewsbury, so it was prudent for her to request an escort to return to her family home.

Lai appears in Domesday Book and is now one of the lost manors of Shropshire; its actual location is uncertain.

[13] At the opening of the novel, Lammas Day and Loaf Mass are mentioned as having been well-timed to the actual harvest from the good growing weather up to the start of August.

This reflects the warmer climate in northern Europe, described in the Medieval Warm Period, Wine from the United Kingdom and one other source.

The author who avoids irony[18] adds a touch of it with this quote, as the Book of Common Prayer came after Henry VIII split from the Roman Catholic church that dominated in the 12th Century, the setting of the novel.

[23][24] "Oh God, Who hast consecrated this state of matrimony to such an excellent mystery, look mercifully on these Thy servants.

"[25] Marriage is the major theme of An Excellent Mystery as reflected in the title, which is taken from a prayer used at wedding services.

[26] The novel has been translated and published in French, Italian, German, Dutch, Portuguese, and Polish, listed at Goodreads.