Title:

The Potter's Field

Author:

Ellis Peters

Category:

Mystery / Thriller

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

July 27, 2026

he Potter's Field is the seventeenth story in the Brother Cadfael mystery series. I thought this was one of the better mysteries, I did not guess the outcome until everything was revealed in the final pages. The familiar characters step into their roles. An excellent plot sets up the mystery, and then it is up to Brother Cadfael and Sheriff Beringer to unwind the secrets. At first, I was disappointed on how the story was unfolding; it felt like Peters' was relying too much on coincidence for the plot - but I kept reading and what might have seen like coincidence was later seen in a different light.

Once again the reader is transported back to medieval England. It is late summer in the year 1143. Due to a trade of assets, the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul acquired a fertile plot of land that is called the Potter's Field. It was given this name because a potter (Ruald) and his wife (Generys) once lived in a cottage on the land. Ruald dug clay out of pits along the river bank and fashioned pottery to earn his living. But one day, Ruald was seized with a burning desire to devote the rest of his life to God. Despite vigorous, anguished protestations from Generys, Ruald abandoned his lovely wife and took orders - he is now a devout monk in St. Peter's and St. Paul's abbey. Generys, the spurned, beautiful wife, disappeared with a new lover. The fallow Potter's Field is set to the plough by the industrious monks - but almost immediately the plowman uncovers a gruesome find - the bones of a woman. Naturally, Brother Cadfael happens to be on hand to examine the corpse.

The decomposed body of the woman is too far gone to allow any identification. There is no sign of injury to the bones, but the flesh has all rotted away. However, the dead woman had long black hair, and everyone immediately recalls that beautiful Generys sported long black tresses. Could it be that rather disappearing with a new lover, that Generys has been lying in this unmarked grave in the Potter's Field all along? It is clear a crime has been committed, because if the woman had met an honest death, she would have been buried in a consecrated churchyard.

Suspicion immediately falls upon the pious Ruald. It is well known that the parting between Generys and Ruald was not amicable. Might this gentle monk have committed murder before taking orders? Coming and going from the abbey is not permitted without permission from Abbot Radulfus - but might a dedicated villain have snuck out at some point, killed his ex-wife and returned with none the wiser?

The backdrop to the Cadfael series is the ongoing civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud. Shrewsbury (where the abbey resides) is loyal to King Stephen. Word comes that a dastardly turncoat named Geoffery de Mandeville has amassed a band of ruffians and sacked Cambridge. Mandeville then took Ramsey, including the abbey there. Word of these terrible deeds reaches Shrewsbury when a young novitiate staggers into the abbey. His name is Sulien Blount, and he is the second son of the family that just so happens to live next to the Potter's Field. Indeed, Sulien knows Ruald quite well and is convinced that the newly minted monk could not possibly have killed his wife. Sulien's presence and knowledge really gets the mystery rolling, because now someone can provide details about what happened out there in the fields.

Cadfael and Sheriff Hugh Beringer and Abbot Radulfus spend a good portion of this story reviewing what they know, looking for clues. Without forensics or witnesses, they must rely on their wits to make deductions about possible cause of the crime, and whom the dead woman might be. There are several twists and surprises as their investigation advances, with different characters seemingly guilty at different times.

I enjoyed this story. The mystery is puzzling enough. Peters' keeps the reader guessing all the way until the end. It is fun to once again renew acquaintance with characters Cadfael and Beringer. Alas, now there are just three more books to go. But that does mean I am getting much closer to actually finishing a complete book series.