The Prayer of the Night Shepherd

Merrily Watkins #6

by Phil Rickman

A crumbling hotel on the border of England and Wales, a suggestion of inherited evil, a mystifying love affair… and the long–disputed origins of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles. It’s all endlessly fascinating for young Jane Watkins, flushed with the freedom of her first weekend job. But the sinister side becomes increasingly apparent to Jane’s mother, Merrily, diocesan exorcist for Hereford. And the snow is coming. And a killing. Altogether, one of the most original and atmospheric crime novels you’ll read this year.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Supernatural, Paranormal, Horror, Mystery Thriller

624 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Phil Rickman, also known under the pen names Thom Madley and Will Kingdom, was a British author of supernatural and mystery novels.

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

After taking a small break from this series, when I picked up this sixth weighty volume, I almost prolonged the break. I have a hard cover copy, and it really isn’t conducive to lugging it around, but once I started reading it, I immediately was sucked back into Merrily’s life. This may not be a flashy series, with non-stop action, but the characters are so realistic and the plots are so meticulously revealed that it’s hard not to be engulfed in the series. Even after a break, it’s like catching up with an old friend - one that you hadn’t realized just how much you had missed until you were chatting away like it had been only yesterday that you had last seen one another. There is just something so lifelike about the series - even with its supernatural elements.

This time Sir Arthur Conan Doyle plays a role - and those fans of The Hound of the Baskervilles will particularly enjoy this installment. It was a very interesting addition!

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was that women’s cancer cured by prayer? Is that young man with asthma a killer or a victim? Was The Hound of the Baskervilles originally going to be set in border between England and Wales? Will an Arthur Conan Doyle appreciation society be able to contact the spirit of the author and find out? Is that women working in the struggling hotel really a teenage killer now grown up? Will Gomer be able to get his tractor through the snow? Who or what is killing the sheep? And for the love of God will you just marry Lol and get it over with!!!!

These are the kerfuffle's that Merrily Watkins (local vicar and chain smoking exorcist) must solve to bring peace and tranquillity back to the county of Herefordshire. This was pretty good, dragged in the middle a little and the ending was a little bit Scooby Doo, but I just love the characters so much any failings just seem to flutter away.

[hawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

(review to come)

[Trilby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading the Watkins series in order, and I think this is the best one yet. The use of the perennial interest in and controversy surrounding Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles" as part of the plot in this book is not only interesting, but brilliant: a mystery about a Sherlock Holmes' mystery.

The aspect that has bothered me most about the other Watkins novels is that the plots beggar credulity. That's obviously an endemic problem with mysteries--maybe especially mysteries involving a female C of E priest/exorcist.

This novel, however, focuses just as much on Jane, Watkins' daughter, as on Merrily herself. The exorcist part is played down here, while keeping the spookiness quotient high. What bothers me about Jane is that she has the most sophisticated education and taste of any 17-year-old I've known, and I've known hundreds of them. Jane knows more about literature, art, and general culture than many college graduates, and when she pops off with one of these insights, we see the Rickman of Oz behind the curtain.

Nevertheless, Rickman has produced an exciting page-turner, using the landscape and the unique folk culture of the Border to fine effect. It's obvious he understands the farmers and small townsfolk of this area very well--from the country gentry to the Welsh hill farmers.

[Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Really, WOW. I liked the previous books in this series, but came to accept that I would always care for the characters more than the events (plots) that happened around them. Until this story. Phil Rickman finally found the perfect balance of blending a pre-existing idea (Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles in particular) into this adventure, giving this mystery a greater depth. As always, the cast of characters continues to be literary platinum.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloody brilliant.

[Elly Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book - wonderful characters, genuine spookiness and the Hound of the Baskervilles. Who could ask for more?

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das Setting und die Themen des sechsten Marrily Watkins-Romans haben mich begeistert: Ist es eine lokale Legende aus der Grenzregion zwischen Wales und England, angesiedelt unweit des Dörfchens, in dem Merrily lebt, gewesen, die Arthur Conan Doyle zum "Hund der Baskervilles" inspiriert hat?
Wer sich ein wenig mit Doyle und Sherlock Holmes beschäftigt hat, wird viele offene und auch versteckte Bezüge entdecken, was mir genauso Freude gemacht hat wie das Wiedersehen mit Merrily, ihrer Tochter Jane und Freunden und Bekannten der beiden.
Auch die Beschreibung der einzigartigen Grenzlandschaft trägt wesentlich zur atmosphärischen Stimmung des Buches bei.

Der Betreiber eines heruntergekommenen Hotels will fernsehwirksam Kapital aus der alten Legende um den schwarzen Höllenhund schlagen und lädt eine Gruppe von Spiritisten ein, die den Geist ACDs beschwören sollen. Doch neben einem alten Familienfluch kommt es zu höchst realen Morden, eine undurchsichtige Gemengelage, in die Merrily, Pastorin und Beauftragte für spirituelle Grenzfragen, mitsamt Tochter und Freunden verwickelt wird.

Im letzten Drittel zog sich der Roman zeitweise etwas und die Aufklärung am Ende erinnert nach einigen Wirrnissen an Agatha Christie-Romane.

Im Anschluss an diesen Roman ist ein Wiederlesen von "Der Hund der Baskervilles" bei mir angesagt.

[Jason Brannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Prayer of the Night Shepherd is the sixth entry in the Merrily Watkins series. As is the case with any novel based on a set of recurring characters, this could either be a cause for celebration or a cookie-cutter rehash of previous novels. For some authors, this would be just another paint-by-the-numbers exercise that would build on previous successes but fail to break new ground. Thankfully, this isn't the case with Rickman and his most recent work. He gives faithful readers all of the suspense and supernatural intrigue they've come to love while throwing a fresh slant on the story of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Like so many of Rickman's novels, this one is set on the mysterious Welsh border. In particular, it is set in a Victorian hotel that is rumored to be the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles. The cast of characters who live and operate at that hotel are equally as dark and enigmatic as the surrounding countryside and the legends which thrive there. In fact, most of the characters in this book aren't what they seem at first glance. Beware, there are skeletons in every closet, and Rickman examines those old bones in detail.

Chief among those intrigued by the legend of The Hound is the hotel's owner, Ben Foley. Ben is a washed-up television producer who buys the Stanner Hall Hotel in order to start a new life with his wife Amber who incidentally serves as the hotel's cook. Thought to be drifters who were just passing through, Natalie Craven and her daughter, Clancy, find positions at the hotel as well while taking up residence with the quiet brooding farmer, Jeremy Berrows who lives at a nearby farm called The Nant. Rounding out the staff at the hotel is Jane Watkins, daughter of Merrily Watkins who happens to be the Deliverance Consultant for the Diocese of Hereford.

For those familiar with the previous Merrily Watkins novels, Jane plays a larger role in this novel than she has in previous Merrily novels. For those of us who have come to love her acerbic wit and dry sarcasm, this is a welcome development. Rickman skillfully uses Jane and her curiosity in the pagan lifestyle as a counterpoint to Merrily's stance as an Anglican priest. What results is an interesting twist of irony between mother and daughter that runs throughout the novel as Jane becomes involved with The White Company, a group of spiritualists whose beliefs are in direct contradiction to everything that Merrily stands for as an Anglican priest. Lol Robinson, Gomer Parry, and Frannie Bliss invariably show up in the narrative as well, lending familiarity and dark humor to an unfamiliar and bleak set of circumstances.

As is the case with most of Rickman’s novels, there are usually several storylines going on simultaneously, and this book is no exception. Foremost, a group of spiritualists called The White Company attempts to summon Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s spirit at the hotel where Jane is working while a documentary maker named Antony Largo plans to capture it all on tape. Meanwhile, Merrily finds herself in a bit of a dilemma when her parishioners start to view her as a sort of miracle worker, bombarding her with requests for divine healing. This becomes tricky and even dangerous when she is asked to heal the nephew of one of her parishioners only to find out that there is much more to him than meets the eye. Then there is the dilemma of Jeremy Berrows, a local farmer who is constantly being intimidated and indirectly threatened by Sebbie Dacre, a regional landowner who has hired a group of hunters to track down and kill a large black dog that has been sighted on Jeremy’s land. Also “living” at the hotel is the supposed ghost of Hattie Chancery, previous owner of Stanner Hall who committed suicide in one of its rooms after bashing her husband’s head in.

Without recounting too much of the story and spoiling what turns out to be several well-kept secrets involving character lineage and motive, let it suffice to say there are enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing. Rickman deftly weaves several subplots into a cohesive story without losing the atmosphere that has become one of his trademarks. The Prayer of the Night Shepherd has murder, legends involving an ancestral evil that is passed down from generation to generation, attempted suicide, a famous convicted killer who has changed identities and walks about the hotel unrecognized, and sightings of an ominous black dog that foreshadows death.

The Prayer of the Night Shepherd is every bit as good as the other books in the Merrily Watkins series. It is also an ideal place to start for the uninitiated as it doesn't draw too heavily on the history of the characters or any of the events that took place in previous books. If you're a Merrily Watkins fan, a fan of the Sherlock Holmes series, an avid reader of mysteries, or just love a well-crafted tale full of paranormal suspense, this is the book for you. Highly recommended.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is one of the best Merrily Watkins books yet!

There are two mysteries in this story and the main one revolves around Jane. Jane has got a weekend job working at a run down Victorian mansion situated in the shadow of the eerie Stanner Rocks on the border of England and Wales. The owner of the mansion is an ex-TV producer who offers murder-mystery weekends and who intends to boost the popularity of his venture by pushing the theory that this particular house was the true inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle's story The Hound of the Baskervilles. Not only was Conan Doyle supposed to have stayed in the house and attended an exorcism there, but there is a local legend about the Vaughan family involving a ghostly hound, portents of death, murder and madness which also lend credence to the theory.

Merrily meanwhile has started to get the reputation as someone who can heal through prayer - something she is very uncomfortable with. She is forced to deal with this when one of her parishioners, Alice, asks her to help cure her adult nephew, Dexter, of asthma. The asthma is thought to be a manifestation of grief caused by an accident he was in as a child when the stolen car he was driving was hit by a truck and killed his cousin. Huw is not available to help Merrily as he is still trying to recover from the events in the last book, so Merrily consults Canon Llewellyn Jeavons, whom Huw has deemed mad.

As is usual with Jane, she finds herself far out of her depth as events at Stanner turn very dark and have far reaching fatal effects which Merrily gets dragged into. Merrily's task of offering healing and deliverance to Dexter opens a can of dangerous worms and Lol ends up caught in the crossfire.

And in the background Merrily and Lol continue to take babysteps forward in their relationship.

This was a great story, totally believable and creepily atmospheric. I was completely caught up in the events at Stanner and am also looking forward to seeing more of Canon Jeavons.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Merrily Watkins is a vicar who is part of the Delivery Ministry, part of which means she performs exorcisms, when needed. Her daughter has a weekend job at a Victorian hotel which exploits the Sherlock Holmes stories and the fable of the Hound of the Baskervilles. Strange goings-on get Watkins involved. A winter blizzard adds to the atmosphere. I like Watkins, and despite her late vocation, she seems genuinely committed to her job, despite occasional doubts that she is capable. These novels are well crafted, although very long. Listening to these novels is a good alternative to carrying around an oversized book. Recommended for readers who like a mystery that is full of spirits and not a cozy.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The plot is weak, but the writing is so compelling that I hardly minded. I love the setting and the characters. Even though I’m a staunch skeptic, I enjoy the atmosphere created by these paranormal mysteries - and I appreciate the way they stay on the edge, maintaining plausible deniability to an outside observer.

Rickman writes in short chapters which alternate between characters and often end on a mini-cliffhanger or with a bit of misdirection. This effectively keeps me turning pages far into the night.

Plotwise: Merrily’s daughter Jane has taken a weekend job at a spooky Victorian hotel on the Welsh border. There is some evidence that Arthur Conan Doyle once visited the location, and the hotel owners are trying to prove that he got the idea for The Hound of the Baskervilles from local legends. They have attracted the attention of a group of spiritualists who believe they are in contact with Doyle in the afterlife.

Meanwhile Merrily is struggling with the issue of spiritual healing - a local woman has apparently experienced a miraculous remission from an illness after Merrily’s fellowship group prays for her. Merrily is deeply upset by the idea of “faith healing”, because it so obviously fails most of the time.

Yay Merrily and Lol!!

[❀⊱RoryReads⊰❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Solid entertainment.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The back of my copy of this book as a quote that says Rickman writes very good dialogue, and this is absolutely spot on.

This entry into the Merrily Watkins series finds Jane working at a hotel that draws people with a connection to Conan Doyle that may or may not be factual. The connection sis the source, or potential source, of the Hound of the Baskervilles. The hotel is struggling, and the owner, Ben, is determined to make it succeed by using his BBC connections. Doyle the mystery writer and Doyle the spiritualist both play a role in this novel.

Ben's wife, Amber, isn’t too happy about any of it. But she can cook.

While Jane is busy earning some money and making her boyfriend jealous by working with a camera, Merrily finds herself caught up in a family drama involving an accident and a death of a young boy.

And then there is the question of Lol and the sorting of his relationship with Watkins.

The dialogue in the book is so organic and works so well. Everyone speaks a certain way, and while Merrily and Jane are the center, Gomer and Lol get center stage in some chapters.

What makes the Watkins so good is how well Rickman writes women from the central characters done to the minor supporting cast. And the women usually don’t hate each other and always seen to be more than stereotypes. In this book, in particular, Rickman does an excellent job with the character of Brigid.

The other strong point is the use of belief and the otherworld. Rickman keeps it somewhat open ended, allowing a more mundane mystery to be separate from the spiritual mystery (which may or may not be spiritual depending on your view).

[Pat Camalliere · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Phil Rickman although it is #6 in the Merrily Watkins series. I really liked it for about the first 2/3 of the book, and was about to add this writer to my new list of favorites. However, by the last third I started to feel that leaving every single scene unresolved got contrived and boring. Although in general this is an excellent tactic for mysteries, this writer has from three to six scenes in every 8-10 page chapter, and every single one leaves the reader hanging. It gets tiresome and loses its effect, in my opinion. I also thought the ending of this book was a bit unclear, albeit with the many characters and time periods involved I credit the author somewhat as this is difficult to do. All in all, I was intrigued enough that I will want to read more books by this writer. I think he will grow on me.

[nettebuecherkiste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich habe mich lange davor gedrückt, die Rezension zu diesem Buch zu schreiben – weil mir klar war, dass das verdammt schwierig werden würde. Normalerweise beschreibe ich ja kurz den Inhalt eines Buchs, bevor ich meine Meinung dazu schreibe, aber bei diesem Buch ist das … nicht ganz einfach, denn es ist wahnsinnig vielschichtig und man weiß nicht recht, wo man anfangen soll. In jedem Fall ist es – anders als ich zunächst gedacht hatte – kein klassischer Krimi um eine Ermittlerin. Bis ein (aktueller) Mord geschieht, ist man über die Hälfte des Buchs hinweg. Es ist mehr Mystery mit etwas Krimi, sehr stimmungsvoll, aber auch sehr ausführlich. Der Besitzer eines kleinen Hotels an der Grenze zu Wales veranstaltet Krimiwochenenden mit selbstausgedachten neuen Fällen für Sherlock Holmes. Das Ganze hat den Hintergrund, dass der Hotelbesitzer, der ursprünglich aus dem TV-Business kommt, die Theorie hat, dass eines der berühmtesten Bücher von Arthur Conan Doyle, “Der Hund von Baskerville”, seinen Ursprung nicht in Dartmoor, sondern hier in Herefordshire hat. Lokale Legenden berichten von einem Hund, der eine bestimmte Familie verfolgte und ein Todesbote für denjenigen war, der ihn sah. Dazu kommt, dass Conan Doyle ein überzeugter Anhänger des Spiritismus war, was eine große Rolle in dem Buch spielt. Zufälligerweise arbeitet Jane, die Tochter der Pfarrerin Merrily Watkins, am Wochenende in dem Hotel – und das Ganze weckt natürlich ihr Interesse. Dann ist da noch Natalie, die vor Kurzem mit ihrer Tochter in einem Wohnmobil in der Gegend angekommen und bei dem Farmer Jeremy geblieben ist. Auch sie arbeitet im Hotel, und das Rätsel ihrer Identität ist ein weiterer Aspekt des Buchs. Aber es kommt noch mehr dazu. Das Buch ist wie gesagt sehr vielschichtig, aber alles hängt irgendwie zusammen.

Es hat mir Spaß gemacht, das Buch zu lesen, auch wenn es etwas langatmig ist. Die ein bisschen gruselige Atmosphäre ist toll. Und mir hat es gerade deswegen gefallen, weil es kein klassischer Krimi ist. Und ich denke, ich werde nun die übrigen Bände der Reihe auch auf meine Wunschliste setzen. Sorry für die chaotische “Rezension”, aber bei diesem Buch ist das Rezensieren echt nicht leicht.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Watkins is growing up and has got herself a part time job at a hotel on the border between England and Wales. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle may or may not have had a connection with the place and the surrounding area might have given him his inspiration for the ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’ even though he set the story on Dartmoor. Ben Foley and his wife are trying to make a go of the hotel and are making the most of the Conan Doyle connection. But there are other supernatural influences at work including the more recent Hattie Chancery who murdered her husband and then committed suicide.

I remember reading this book when it was first published and decided it was probably my least favourite of this excellent series. This is my third reading of it and I can say now that I really enjoyed it. It is a book which grows on you and it features all the series characters – Merrily herself of course, Lol Robinson, Gomer Parry and Danny Thomas. I found myself constantly looking over my shoulder as I was reading the book – especially when I got towards the end.

If you want something in the supernatural line but which involves modern crime and mystery as well then you could do worse than to try this book. If you’ve always enjoyed Conan Doyle’s writing then there is an opportunity to learn a bit more about his consuming interest in the supernatural which occupied the last decades of his life.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a little behind in the Merrily Watkins series, this one being no.6 of 11. It took me ages to find a copy as it had gone out of print. I have all the ones that come after it but couldn't read those as I didn't want to read any of them out of order. However, according to Phil Rickman - who I met recently at a book signing - it doesn't matter which one you start with.
Anyway, this book featured all the usual suspects from Ledwardine's finest, with new characters in the centre of the story. Amber & Ben Foley are trying to raise money to restore Stanner Hall by holding murder mystery weekends based around a tentative link with Sherlock Holmes having stayed there and used it as the basis for Hound of the Baskervilles.
Meanwhile Merrily Watkins is holding informal meetings at the church which somehow become interpreted as "healing services" and she becomes involved with an aunt who wants her to heal her nephew's asthma, but he is opposed to it as it will dredge up memories from his past.
There are lots of twists and turns towards the end of the book with revelations about the characters and how they are linked together in some historical ways.
Another good book in the series, and now I can get on with the others!!!

[JackieB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phil Rickman is one of my favourite authors. He develops great characters and knows how to crank up the suspense during his plots. If that isn't enough he has a fantastic ear for dialogue too which makes his books compelling right from the beginning. I also like the way he handles the supernatural part of his plots. Is the supernatural involved or is it superstition and overactive imaginations? You'll have to read the books yourself to answer that question.

[Rose English · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 34 of my Goodreads Challenge 2019

I love the Merrily Watkins series and have read quite a few. This was very enjoyable especially bringing in the mystery of which county and home the Hound of the Baskervilles was based around.

[Dawn Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have you ever been on a tour of a museum or historic sight and been hijacked by the myopic docent? You begin what you think will be an interesting light tour but realize the tour leader has no intention of getting you past the first exhibit. Oh sure, they are full of enthusiasm for what they are showing you and are quite knowledgeable but after a while you want to move on! You can see that there are interesting bits and bobs down the corridor but the docent is still talking about the first object. In your head you scream “Oh my goodness make them stop!”. You finally decide to sidle away from the group and go explore on your own but you discover that there really isn’t anything to look at after all. That’s how the “The Prayer for the Night Shepherd” reads. It’s so focused on one area, one house, one incident it becomes completely bogged down. It’s 500 pages of lead up to nothing… Nothing. Not even Gomer Parry plant hire could dig you out.
The one redeeming aspect of this Merrily Watkins mystery is Lol finally shows some spunk. Long time coming but that’s not even enough to recommend this slog of a read.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoo. What a book. Dark, convoluted, atmospheric, full of spiritual and psychological twists. And set in the days immediately preceding Christmas, during a raging snowstorm, on the England-Wales border. Beautifully crafted plot, characters and dialogue.

I am loving Merrily Watkins, the Episcopal priest/ Deliverance specialist.

[Ceri · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's alwasy a pleasure to read one of the books in the series. The main characters are well drawn and likeable. They have flaws but you would still be happy to spend time with them. The crimes can be quite gruesome and some of the themes of spirits both evil and otherwise might not suit all but I am always sad to leave the place when I finish one of these stories.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing balancing act pulling all the threads of the story together and leaving us with a satisfying ending and much food for thought. All the books in this series are amazing! Have the next one on order!

[Leanne Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always love these books...the characters are like old friends. Not the best I've read but still thoroughly addictive and enjoyable.

[Charles Kerns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snug little mysteries with a touch of gore, a bit of offstage sex, some semi-gothic near horror, and murders here and there, but still proper enough for grandmom. Merrily, the little vicar (short and voluptuous, enough to titillate a bishop and choirmaster, among others) always obsesses over her inadequacies as does her love object Lol, the down-and-out musician back in town.
Each book has a resident spirit/ghost that Merrily, the Deliverance Minister (read exorcist), takes on. Tensions frame the series: 1-Merrily vs. her bishops, Merrily vs. the traditionalists in the church who do not want women, Merrily vs. the rationalist wing of the Church of England who want no medieval ghosts wandering about, 2-daughter Jane, a mid-teen when the series starts, a born-again pagan looking dreamily at the moon at midnight vs. her mom whom Jane thinks is wasting her life in the no-account structure of the Church of England, Jane vs. the developers, the crooked, town councilors, and the newly arriving Londoners crowding out the old village life, 3-Inspector Bliss (Frannie) vs. his boss or his boss’s father, an old school retired cop who is moving into politics, 4- Huw, the old exorcist who runs the exorcism school, vs. everyone except (after a book or two) Merrily, 5-Khan, the immigrant impresario and salon-keeper who pops up when needed, vs. old-school England, …
The plots are intricate, and the storytelling shifts focus from one character to another. Episodes often end in a Perils-of-Pauline cliff-hanger. The characters are finely detailed--I know them better than my neighbors, but the gems of the series are the details about the Wales-England border country, all based on real places. Sometimes haunted, sometimes only threatening.
A dozen or so books good for a two-month isolation. But you need breaks—I can only do two books straight without an interlude. I read French Revolution Histories and Marcus s Aurelius’s Meditations to get away for a day or two from Mr. Rickman’s creation.
This is one review for the complete series. I’ve read them all. I know I'm a man not the target demographic, but I’m hunkering down during the C-virus lock-in, and they are here with me. Fine for a old-style virtual trip outside the front door into a land with no pandemic.

[Leanne Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the books in this series in audio format is an absolute delight. Rickman has a wonderful sense of place and character, and his novels are full of local dialect, idiom and atmosphere. The narrator brings this to life and makes the whole reading experience like an adventure on the border between England and Wales.
This particular story features an ancient legend attached to an old hall. There are those who believe in an evil curse following the descendants of a certain knight, while local farmers with an uncanny feel for the land speak of seeing the manifestation of that evil as a black dog. Merrily Watkins, the vicar of a nearby parish, is called in to conduct an exorcism, for which she feels ill-equipped due to her personal doubts. Meanwhile, her teenage daughter, Jane, takes the view that border country is always fraught with tension, according to pagan belief, and therefore anything is possible. Alongside all these perspectives is, of course, the understanding from a psychological point of view that genetics may play a role in generational dysfunction. Thus, the story invites the reader to consider viewpoints he may not have considered before and come to a greater understanding about the complexity of belief and life experience.
I am definitely a fan of Rickman's work and will steadily make my way through the whole series. They're not light enough for binge-reading as they present enough food for thought to keep me satisfied for a good few months between books. I always learn something new about English history, legend and current social affairs from these novels, hence my unusual five-star rating.

[Laurena Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed/downloaded this from out local library Borrowbox (which I can really recommend). I hadn't read any of Phil Rickman's books, but as it was borrowed I couldn't read the first in the series (as it was out), so I picked this one which I think is the sixth. So I will have to go back and start with the first one later, to fill in some of the background details, and make sense of some of the references. But being about to do a four hour coach journey, I wanted something which would be engrossing. I live in Herefordshire, and have visited the area in which this novel is set - I really enjoyed details such as the mention of shops in Hereford which actually exist. The novel concerns the legend of the black dog of Hergest, which may have been the source of Conan Doyle's hound of the Baskervilles. I found details of the diocesan exorcist Merrilee Watkins interesting including her belief in the power of the Eucharist to cleanse people and places from ancient evil. I did raise my eyes a bit at the language used however - why would someone who calls on the name of Jesus as all-powerful also use the name of the Father and Son as expletives? She does say at one point that she doesn't mind thenames being used as oaths, because it keeps the names in circulation, but I question this. Maybe Phil Rickman has done an interview which explains this?

[Mike White · Rating 5 out of 5]

“‘Hard to say, ennit?’ Jeremy had sat himself on a wooden stool, away from the fire, like he was determined not to get comfortable, lulled into saying too much. There was a sprig of holly on the mantelpiece but no mistletoe anywhere: old Border lore reckoned it was unlucky to bring in mistletoe before the New Year.”
A Merrily Watkins thriller. Her daughter Jane is now 17 and working weekends at Stanner Hall, a struggling hotel that hopes to host weekends associated with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who may have stayed there and derived the background to The Hound of the Baskervilles from the locality. There is the macabre tale of Hattie Chancery, a violent and licentious woman who murdered her husband with souvenirs from her lovers. And Black Vaughan, who reputedly sold his soul to the devil in pursuit of a maiden. Their descendants are haunted by them. A mild-mannered local farmer is being bullied by Sebbie ‘Three Farms’ Dacre.
Murder, fear and the supernatural are present and Merrily as Deliverance (Exorcism) practitioner for the Diocese of Hereford becomes involved.
An exciting but lengthy (600 pages) tale.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, everything happens at once at the end- and our characters respond, showing us who they are and who they are becoming. Merrily was more prominent than in #5; I enjoyed that. I was aware of the setting of the plot being slow-going with lots of discussions revealing the lore surrounding the "Hound of the Baskervilles", the infamous local gentry- the Chancery family, the amoral dealings of the TV industry. It was scary and moody and wintery. Once more Rev. Watkins' unerring Christian acts to bring souls closer to God put her and her loved ones in grave danger with a great deal of help from Jane. Love is showcased here- what happens in it's presence and absence in a mated relationship including Merrily's with Lol. Well worth the early slog especially if you are an admirer of Rickman's works.