A Morbid Taste for Bones - Ellis Peters

This is the "1st Chronicle of Brother Cadfael" or the first of a series that appears to be 20 or so strong.

In the 12th century, a monk in a Benedictine Abbey in Shrewsbury England had a dream that Saint Winefred wanted them to bring her sacred remains to their abbey. At this particular time in history, it seems having famous relics at your church brought you glory and a better standing to compete for donations. So the monks - Brother Cadfael among them - set off to a remote Welsh mountain village called Gwytherin.

The monks and their proposal were not warmly welcomed and when Lord Rhyart - who led the opposition - is found murdered, the monks are viewed even less hospitably.

Brother Cadfael was once a crusader and his experiences have left him with a deep sense of morality and wisdom and a calm, compassionate, and pragmatic manner. And the ability to solve crimes. While he is an obedient monk, he gets most things done by side-stepping all the power struggles and staying just out of the radar. By not bringing attention to himself, he is not recognized as being as intelligent as he truly is.

The other characters are sufficiently developed that you feel you know them - some you like and some you don't. It's an excellent mystery in that you change your mind several times about "who done it" prior to finishing the book. It does however, have a good bit of descriptive text, which slows the book down a bit. If you don't like that sort of thing, you won't like the book.

All in all, it's unique setting and characters make it a great read and I will definitely move on to the other books at some point.

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

The Lost Symbol follows the same formula as Dan Brown's other books (though my least favorite) - it's not great literature, but if you want a fast-paced suspense that's hard to put down, you may enjoy this one also. You really need to get lost in the story because otherwise you would notice that, while thrilling, it's a little far-fetched.

Harvard Professor Robert Langdon is pulled into the world of a really, really nasty villain (almost cartoonishly evil) and must travel throughout Washington DC and to find Peter Solomon - an old friend and mentor. DC, with its historic buildings and rich symbolism, is a great backdrop.

Brown is an amazing researcher and this book reflects that. And he writes with such authority that you can suspend any doubt, believe he knows what he's talking about, and enjoy the ride. But, with that said, in fitting all the details into the story the flow of action is interrupted.

Langdon's heroine in this book is Katherine Soloman -- sister of the missing Peter Soloman and Noetic researcher. As sidekicks go, she could trade places with any of the others and I wouldn't know the difference. As far as the Science of Noetics - it was interesting to learn about, but in looking back, I don't know why it was in the book -- except that its adds another location for action and more lectures of facts, it was superfluous.

My biggest issue with the book, however is the ending. I sort of saw where the story was going before the end of the book and was a little disappointed. While somewhat inspiring, it felt like just a device for the author to preach his societal message.

So if you like thrillers - especially those with ancient rituals, severed hands, and secrets, you may enjoy this book.