Because I was sleepy yesterday on the train, I needed something less intense to read than what I’d planned (the sequel to The King’s Peace), so I read one of the Brother Cadfael novels I’d bought over the weekend, The Virgin in the Ice. Yes, that means I’ve skipped the fifth one, but hey, if I’d had it, I would have read it. (I have it back in New Haven from the library.)
Being an even-numbered Cadfael novel, the plot stems from the civil war. Empress Maud’s forces have sacked Worcester (I wonder if the English pronounce it the same way people in Massachusetts do?), and refugees have flooded the countryside. A pair of noble teens are missing, along with the nun accompanying them; they keep disappearing and reappearing through the course of the novel. And, of course, someone gets murdered.
This is a nice twisty one, with an interesting revelation at the end, and a good way to pass the sloooow train ride from Albany to Boston.
[Update: I’m told that yes, “Worcester” is about the same to the English as to us Massachusetts folks—I’d render it, very roughly, “whu-sta” (or “wuss-ta” or “woo-stah” or however you want to try to convey those vowels).]