MONK'S HOOD

Often, all the books in a series are read by one narrator, but Brother Cadfael has been fortunate with the variety of his storytellers, with Patrick Tull, Nadia May, Derek Jacobi, and Stephen Thorne among them. Accents are especially important in British books, and Thorne's are masterly here. Cadfael himself is more vigorous and assertive than in some of the installments, perhaps spurred by a reunion with his childhood sweetheart. The mystery, too, is better crafted than in some of the chronicles. But it is setting and character that draw many fans to this series, and they are vividly drawn and portrayed. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2012]