The Smile Of A Ghost, by Phil Rickman
The new Merrily Watkins (Deliverance [exorcism] Consultant to the Diocese of Hereford) mystery, and well worth the wait. Set mainly in Ludlow, it revolves on one hand around a string of deaths at the castle and a mysterious ex-goth singer stalking the town after dark; and on the other about a panel of interfering advisors setting themselves up to control Merrily's Deliverance work. You've got ghosts, hidden family secrets, poison pen letters, misdirection, last minute dashes and a lot of timber framing. All you expect from a Merrily book really. Definitely recommended.Midwinter of the Spirit, by Phil Rickman
Having been laid up in bed for days with a self-pitying cold, I've also been re-reading the earlier ones. Midwinter Of The Spirit is the second Merrily book, and the first where she's officially the Deliverance Consultant. This is one of the more 'orrible tales, from an evil man's spirit attaching itself to Merrily as she ministers to him dying in the hospital, through weird and tragic happenings on Dinedor Hill above Hereford and desecration of churches, up to the climax in the cathedral during the installation of the Boy Bishop ceremony. All good stuff then.
The Crown of Lights, by Phil Rickman
I think this is my least favourite Merrily book, partly due to some squirmingly uncomfortable scenes, and also, I've realised on re-reading it, because it hasn't got Lol Robinson in it, who I like a lot. Still a good read though, focussing on tensions between a group of Pagans who want to re-dedicate a decomissioned church in the Welsh Borders, and an evangelical minister who's whipping up the locals and media alike. Typically, influences on both sides are not what they seem at first, and the book does a good job of showing how fundamentalism on both sides of the religious fence can spiral into hysteria and violence. There's a sub-plot involving the sinister goings on of the local people, and I presume I first read this pre-League of Gentlemen because it's a lot harder to read bits of it with a straight face now. Still, events build to a pleasing finale, and I think I liked it more on the second read.
posted by Izzy @ 11:17 am
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