The Sanctuary Sparrow (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #7) by Ellis Peters [Paperback: Very Good]

Paperback in Very Good condition (278 pages)

Medieval monk Brother Cadfael races to save a young man he believes is falsely accused of robbery.

In the gentle Shrewsbury spring of 1140, the midnight matins at the Benedictine abbey suddenly reverberate with an unholy sound - a hunt in full cry.  Pursued by a drunken mob, the quarry is running for its life.  When the frantic creature bursts into the nave to claim sanctuary, Brother Cadfael finds himself fighting off armed townsmen to save a terrified young man.

Liliwin, a wandering minstrel who performed at the wedding of a local goldsmiths son, has been accused of robbery and murder.  The cold light of morning, however, will show his supposed victim, the miserly craftsman, still lives, although a strongbox lies empty.  Brother Cadfael believes Liliwin is innocent, but finding the truth and the treasure before Liliwins respite in sanctuary runs out may uncover a deadlier sin than thievery - a desperate love that nothing, not even the threat of hanging, can stop.