Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Brother Cadfael is not the sort of person you would immediately peg as a brilliant detective -- a crusader-turned-monk who specializes in herbology and medicine. But he is a brilliant detective. And "Cadfael: Complete Collection" brings together all of the BBC's adaptation of Ellis Peters' classic mysteries, which intertwine murder mysteries and medieval history. These stories are well-written, clever and full of unexpected twists -- and they're filmed with a gritty, grimy realistic flavor. Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) is a monk at the abbey of Shrewsbury in the first half of the twelfth century. At this time, England was being ripped in half by a civil war (now called The Anarchy) between King Stephen and Empress Maud, which was dividing the populace and turning the English people against each other. And as the war rages on, Cadfael is confronted by many different murders -- murdered nobles, framed acrobats, a corpse is hidden amongst executed "traitors," a raped nun frozen in the river, a saint's bones that inspire murder and greed, a body found in a potter's field, a vast Shrewsbury Fair leads to a string of cruel murders, a cruel priest is found dead after he drives a pregnant girl to suicide, and political conflicts lead to brutal deaths. "Cadfael: The Complete Collection" is the sort of authentic historical series that the BBC has sadly stopped making -- it has all the blood, grime and sweat of the 12th century, and accurately depicts the strong presence of religion and politicial strife in medieval life. For the most part, the writers accurately adapt Peters' novels -- every mystery has lots of suspects, moral dilemmas, religious strife, civil war, a murder that only Cadfael can solve, and a bit of cute romance as well. And since the series is set long before forensic science was created, it's fun to see Cadfael scout for tiny clues and patch them together into a case-- a cast of a boot print, a shred of cloth, a bit of a plant. The one downside? Cadfael does a couple of things that would be questionable for a Catholic monk, and "The Pilgrim of Hate" is almost nothing like Peters' novel -- a lame end for the series. But Derek Jacobi is absolutely pitch-perfect as Cadfael -- his solid performance is kindly, wise, paternal, and a little humorous at times, especially as a monk who's seen more of the real world than most of his brothers (he was even a ladies' man!). And even though he's a monk and healer, we occasionally get to see him kick butt as well. There are also great performances by Terrence Hardiman as the kind but stern Abbot Radulfus, Julian Firth as the fussy Brother Jerome, and Michael Culver as the haughty snob Prior Robert. Mark Charnock is also rather sweet as the naive, gawky Brother Oswin ("... besides... I like gloves"). Despite a few flaws, "Cadfael: The Complete Collection" is an earthy, solid medieval mystery series with a brilliant Derek Jacobi in the lead.