Finished the second Brother Cadfael novel, One Corpse Too Many, yesterday over lunch. This shifts focus from the monastery’s politics and concerns to the siege of Shrewsbury in the 12th-century civil war between Stephen and Maud. Most of the book focuses on the plight of characters associated with the murder victim; the murder itself is not terribly mysterious, but that’s okay because I really like the characters. Maybe I’m reacting more to these books than I usually would because I’m particularly stressed out, but so far they give me an overall impression of sheer benevolence, which is as good as a hot bath for relaxing me.