As hundreds of pilgrims arrive at the shrine of St. Winifred, Brother Cadfael wonders if two of the pilgrims, obviously intensely bound to each other, are bound to the murder of a knight in Winchester

In the 12th-century Benedictine monastery of Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael has settled down to a quiet life in charge of the herbarium. It is fortunate his prowess as a herbalist is matched by his detective skills - when his prior acquires the bones of a saint, the obstacles include murder.

An omnibus volume containing the first two chronicles of Brother Cadfael, the remarkable medieval detective, features A Morbid Taste for Bones and One Corpse Too Many, as well as photographs and text from Cadfael Country. 17,500 first printing.

The cloistered walls of Shrewsbury Abbey have always protected Brother Cadfael from the raging Civil War. But when fighting escalates between Empress Maud and King Stephen, the war takes a deadly step closer to him. Taken prisoner in the battle for Maud's land is Olivier de Bretagne, Brother Cadfael's own son- born as a result of a brief encouter thirty years earlier. Now Brother Cadfael resolves to plead for his son's release at a peace conference scheduled to take place in Coventry; but there is no sign of Olivier there. After much soul searching, Cadfael makes the difficult decision to break his monastic vows, leaving Coventry without permission- because he knows he must do everything in his power to find his son.

A MORBID TASTE FOR BONES. In 1137 the head of Shrewsbury Abbey decided to acquire the remains of St Winifred. Brother Cadfael is part of the expedition sent to her final resting place in Wales and they find the villagers passionately divided by the Benedictines' offer for the saint's relics. Canny, wise and all too worldly, Cadfael isn't surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder. ONE CORPSE TOO MANY. In 1138, war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud takes Brother Cadfael from the quiet world of his garden to the bloody battlefield. Not far from the safety of the Abbey walls, Shrewsbury Castle falls, leaving its ninety-four defenders loyal to the Empress to hang as traitors. With a heavy heart, Brother Cadfael agrees to bury the dead, but discovers ninety-five bodies awaiting his attention. MONK'S-HOOD. Brother Cadfael's herb garden is flourishing under his care, then a local dignitary is poisoned with one of the herbalist's own concoctions and Cadfael finds he has to defend himself and another suspect whom he is sure is innocent.