Edith Pargeter: One corpse too many (1982, Ulverscroft)
373 pages
English language
Published July 11, 1982 by Ulverscroft.
One Corpse Too Many is a medieval mystery novel set in the summer of 1138 by Ellis Peters. It is the second novel in the Cadfael Chronicles, first published in 1979. During the Anarchy, King Stephen takes Shrewsbury Castle and hangs all of the surviving defenders. Cadfael, a Benedictine monk of the nearby Shrewsbury Abbey discovers a murdered man hidden amongst the slain. He also has to help a young girl escape the siege, and discover the motives of Hugh Beringar - her betrothed fiancé. When the novel was first published, the author was remarked for her knowledge of the historical era and ability to create it for the reader, yet "she never lets the meticulously researched place-and-time interfere with the canny puzzle, the flesh-and-blood characterization, or the sharp tension."It was adapted for television in 1994 by Central for ITV.
The second Cadfael novel iterates smartly on the first one, playing with points of view and obscuring the actual crime amongst a casual attrocity. The introduction of Hugh Beringar is a crucial addition to the series and his antagonistic debut solidly entertaining.
