THE SANCTUARY SPARROW

More puzzles to be solved and innocents to be saved--as wise Brother Cadfael again works herbal wonders in his 12th-century Benedictine monastery. Cadfael's primary concern this time: Liliwin, a young, half-starved, itinerant juggler who is accused of murdering and robbing goldsmith Walter Aurifaber. Convinced of the lad's innocence, Cadfael helps him to take church-sanctuary from a vengeful mob. And the monk then turns sleuth, of course, looking into both the attack on Aurifaber and the subsequent drowning of Aurifaber's tenant, locksmith Baldwin Peche. Some of the suspects within the miserly Aurifaber household: newly married son Daniel; his bride Margery, jealous of sister-in-law Susanna (a competent, 30-ish spinster who runs the household); maid-of-all-work Rannilt, who has fallen in love with Liliwin; and even Waiter's sick, ill-tempered, still-powerful mother, who eventually backs Margery in the feud with Susanna--a dramatic turn of events that leads to the exposure of the killer and the transformation of Liliwin into a hero. Much the same mixture as before, with a little more sentiment and a little less action--but a welcome treat for Brother Cadfael fans.