El tributo de la rosa (Fray Cadfael #13)

fray cadfael: elmonje detective - ASIN: B00GCKGZDI - [The Rose Rent (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #13) by Ellis Peters. Traducción en castellano de Maria Antonia Menini]: 'A la muerte de su esposo, la joven y adinerada viuda Judit Perle cede una de sus propiedades, una casa en el barrio de la Barbacana, a la abadía de Shrewsbury. Solo pide a cambio que cada año, coincidiendo con el día en que se conmemora el traslado de los restos de santa Winifreda, se le entregue una rosa blanca. Su nueva situación despierta forzosamente el interés de muchos potenciales pretendientes, sobre todo si llegara a recuperar la casa de la Barbacana por incumplimiento del pacto por parte de la abadía... Y hay alguien dispuesto a conseguirlo. En verano de 1142, la rosa aparece violentamente destrozada y el joven monje que debía entregarla, asesinado. Hay tantos sospechosos como pretendientes. Fray Cadfael, con un profundo conocimiento de los seres humanos, sabrá separar la virtud de la maldad y resolver un caso desconcertante, uno de los más difíciles de su prolongada actividad como monje y detective'.'

Ano da Graça de 1142. Uma primavera tardia causa consternação na Abadia de São Pedro e São Paulo (o Mosteiro de Shrewsbury em Shropshire nas Midlands), pois é possível que não haja rosas no dia 22 de Junho. Nesse dia de Sta. Winifred, a jovem viúva Perle tem de receber uma rosa branca como renda devida pela casa que doou à Abadia, ou o contrato fica sem efeito. Quando a natureza segue por fim o seu curso um monge piedoso é enviado para pagar o arrendamento - e é encontrado assassinado ao lado da roseira cortada a golpes de machado. O Irmão Cadfael, segue a pista de pétalas manchadas de sangue... Sabe que o dote da sedutora viúva será muito maior com a casa incluída, e é provável que ela volte a casar. Mas antes que Cadfael possa descobrir se terá sido um pretendente ganancioso o autor do terrível acto, é cometido outro crime. Agora o bom frade terá de abrir caminho rápido através de um emaranhado mais tortuoso do que o das roseiras cobertas de espinhos -- senão haverá mais lágrimas, choro e ranger de dentes! '.'

[Barnes & Noble Overview]: '.' The Rose Rent -- A young widow’s gain could be the abbey’s loss if Brother Cadfael can’t unravel a thorny case of murder. A late spring in 1142 brings dismay to the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, for there may be no roses by June 22. On that day the young widow Perle must receive one white rose as rent for the house she has given to benefit the abbey, or the contract is void. When nature finally complies, a pious monk is sent to pay the rent—and is found murdered beside the hacked rosebush. The abbey’s wise monk-herbalist, Brother Cadfael, follows the trail of bloodied petals. He knows the lovely widow’s dowry is far greater with her house included, and she will likely wed again. Before Cadfael can ponder if a greedy suitor has done this dreadful deed, another crime is committed. Now the good monk must thread his way through a tangle more tortuous than the widow’s thorny bushes'.'

[Editorial Reviews]

--Time: Another remarkable, highly evocative novel.

--Washington Post: The joys in the Peters mysteries lie in the telling -- the historical detail, the view of medieval life in town and monastery, the lively characterization and the author's graceful, literate prose.

--Cleveland Plain Dealer: Each book is an elegant little mystery, gracefully written, cleverly plotted and richly detailed, full of the sounds and the color and the customs of twelfth-century England.

--Houston Post: The books have the freshness of a new world at dawn...Peters weaves a complex, colorful, and at times quite beautiful tapestry.

--Financial Times: Brother Cadfael, in this thirteenth adventure, is as keen and human as ever. The Rose Rent is one of his most satisfactory chronicles.

--Publishers Weekly: '.' In this 13th mystery in the Brother Cadfel series, a beautiful widow rents part of her estate to the brothers of Shrewsbury Abbey for the modest sum of one rose from a certain bush, per year, and all are happy with this arrangement for three years. But then Brother Eluric,the young monk whose job it is to deliver the rose on the day of St. Winifred's translation (the pre-arranged rent-paying day) asks to be excused from the task (he finds he's starting to fall in love with the widow); he is later found murdered near the recently ruined rose rent bush. The abbey is thrown into a panic; not only has an innocent young monk been killed, but with no rose to pay the rent, the contract is canceled and the widow's wealth multiplies remarkably. Soon, the widow herself disappears, and Brother Cadfel begins his search for her and for Eluric's murderer, casting his eye over a large collection of suitors, all of whom would gain greatly from a match with the widow. Peters (The Raven in the Foregate is in fine form in this 13th book, with a leisurely mystery that once again creates a 12th century world that is both comfortable and strange, and a series of delightful, interesting characters'.'

[About the Author]: Ellis Peters is a pseudonym of Edith Mary Pargeter (1913–1995), a British author whose Chronicles of Brother Cadfael are credited with popularizing the historical mystery. Cadfael, a Welsh Benedictine monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey in the first half of the twelfth century, has been described as combining the curious mind of a scientist with the bravery of a knight-errant. The character has been adapted for television, and the books drew international attention to Shrewsbury and its history.

Pargeter won an Edgar Award in 1963 for Death and the Joyful Woman, and in 1993 she won the Cartier Diamond Dagger, an annual award given by the Crime Writers’ Association of Great Britain. She was appointed officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1994, and in 1999 the British Crime Writers’ Association established the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award, later called the Ellis Peters Historical Award.

Romance / Aventura / Suspense e Mistério / Romance policial