A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977)

Writing as Ellis Peters, Edith Pargeter sends Brother Cadfael from Shrewsbury to Wales in 1137 with monks seeking a saint’s remains, then into a murder investigation. The dispute makes religious devotion, local loyalties and the authority to move relics concrete parts of the mystery. A relatively compact introduction to medieval social negotiation, it gives its detective considerable humanity and ingenuity. The historical interest lies as much in competing obligations as in identifying a killer.