cover image Dead Man's Ransom

Dead Man's Ransom

Ellis Peters. Fawcett Books, $4.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-449-20819-9

In this mystery featuring 12th-century Brother Cadfael, a Welsh lord captured by the English is to be exchanged for Gilbert Prestcote, sheriff of Shropshire, who is held by the Welsh. When Prestcote dies in Welsh hands, Cadfael suspects murder and reveals the motives of the captors. PW commented: ""Peters's local color is at its most engaging in the tangled family trees that sprawl across a contentious border.'' (May)