The Devil's Novice — Ellis Peters

Outside the pale of the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, in September of the year of our Lord 1140, a priestly emissary for King Stephen has been reported missing. But inside the pole, what troubles Brother Cadfael is a proud, secretive nineteen-year-old novice.

Brother Cadfael has never seen two men more estranged than the Lord of Aspley and Merier, the son he coldly delivers to the abbey to begin a religious vocation. Merier, meek by day, is so racked by dreams at night that his howls earn him the nickname the Devil's Novice. Shunned and feared, Merier is soon linked to the missing priest's dreadful fate. Only Brother Cadfael believes in Meriet's innocence, and only the good sleuth can uncover the truth before a boy's pure passion, nor evil intent, leads a novice to the noose.