The Cure of Souls

Merrily Watkins #4

by Phil Rickman

As high summer bakes the rich earth of north-east Herefordshire, dark shadows gather around a converted hopkiln where the last owner was savagely murdered. Though the local vicar dismisses claims by its current occupants that the place is haunted, their story is soon splashed over a Sunday newspaper—and Merrily Watkins is directed by the Bishop of Hereford to defuse this situation. Merrily, however, is already contending with a woman's claim that her adopted teenage daughter is possessed by an evil spirit. In both cases Merrily remains unconvinced, but in this summer of oppressive heat and sudden storms, nothing is ever quite what it seems.

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

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

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

[Berengaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

short review for busy readers
Another good addition to the Merrily Watkins series! Very educative on hops and hops growing and some sly asides about the Welsh.

in detail
The focus on hops growing and the long agricultural traditions in that part of Herefordshire adds another layer of texture and flavour to the series setting, as well as being educative on a plant we don't hear much about.

The wishy-washiness of the Church and the greedy Teflon personas of local big wigs seemed right in line with the plots and general problems of our beleaguered Deliverance Minister.

As a Welsh learner, I also enjoyed the cheeky look at how the renewed interest in the Welsh language leads some folks to see that as their way to fame and fortune and rubbing elbows with important people. Jane's comments/attempts at Welsh had me laughing. "Ni'n...ummm....ni'n shaggio, okay?"

The otherworldly elements are enjoyable and suitably creepy.

However, I find I'm becoming extremely bored with Merrily's love life. Not a romance reader at the best of times, I just can't muster a scrap of interest for Lol and their budding romantic relationship. Lol bores me as a character just in general even if I can see how he fits into the larger scheme of the novel series.

Another problematic point is Merrily refusing to stand up for herself in the Church and how fast she is to throw herself under the bus. Imposter syndrome can work in fiction, but not when it's so constant.

With that said, this continues to be an interesting and highly unique spirituality-based mystery series. On to #5!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I love it when a series I loved from the start actually improves with age.

Reasons to read this series (beginning with The Wine of Angels):

1. The guy can write. No idea why he's not more popular in the US, but considering Fifty Shades of Crap was a best seller, maybe Phil Rickman should take that as a compliment.

2. The setting. Who doesn't like the British countryside? Please. I wanna move there.

3. The characters. Ok, the author is a man and the protagonist is a woman. You'd never know it. This guy nails women, and he nails teenaged girls (protagonist is a single mum of one daughter). Since this takes place in a village, you get recurring villagers, some of whom are so quirky and cool that I just love spending time with them. It's also been interesting to see their growth through the series.

4. Yes, the main character is a priest. No, the book is not religious or preachy. She is the diocesan exorcist. I happen to believe that both God and the devil are real, but some people don't believe in God, but believe in ghosts. Some believe in none of the above. I don't think it matters. Maybe the creepy factor goes up if you believe this kind of thing happens (Don't miss the Author's Note at the end of the books. These books all have elements of reality in them. Quite chilling reality at times! I alternate between reading and listening to the Audible books. I love Audible, but it bugs me that the audiobooks never include the Author's Note.)

5. The series is very British. It helps to be British, or at least familiar with the slang, to enjoy the books. Or to have an interpreter! (Thanks, Fiona.) You could probably google the slang. You'll probably only need an interpreter for the first book in the series.

Don't wait for October. Treat yourself to a spooky read now. A chilling read to ward off the summer heat! Book Depository delivers to the US for free. I've found three of the four books read in the series so far on Amazon secondhand, another great option. Phil Rickman deserves to be more widely read.

PS: If you enjoy audiobooks, this series is wonderfully performed. A+ to the audiobook.

[hawk · Rating 3 out of 5]

a friend's recent reading prompted me to make another visit to Herefordshire and Ledwardine...


🌳🎚🙏⛪🏡🙏🎚🌳


this novel had a kinda good creepy/sinister start - something about the tone... and what's more atmospheric than teenage dynamics in the schoolyard... 😉😯


🌿🍃👻🍂🌾


we catch up with our main characters:

🧡 Jane's feeling weighed down by her virginity, and the pressure of her boyfriend waiting for the right time/wanting it to be special ('like, the first time is often underwhelming 🙄' 😉).

🧡 Lol is making music still, tho also studying as a psychotherapist. he meets the Boswell guitar... and its maker.

🧡 Merrily is needing to establish a team within the deliverance ministry... and being called on for her potential first exorcism of person rather than place.


🌿🍃👻🍂🌾


what grumbles/niggles did i have with this instalment in the series?

🤔😕 i was abit wary when a Romany thread/plotline came up, but the author seemed to handle it OK initially... this later gets abit messy, stereotypical and generalising in places... the author throws in some potentially problematic bits and pieces, and somehow tries to square it away by having a Romany character there and say/reinforce some of it. a kinda mixed representation there i think.

🤔😕 and while i liked the no tolerance of homophobia from the pub landlord 👍🙂 sadly the author allows the character to say more and worse outside of the pub 😕 and here, and subsequently, without any critique.

but back to the rest of the novel...


🌿🍃👻🍂🌾


i don't seem to have written much about the plot/story 😉 but it was both coherent and interesting enough. pretty violent (and vile) in places. creepy and convoluted in others. but nothing less than you'd expect from Phil Rickman's careful crafting, and Merrily Watkins' very human, mild moral and spiritual dilemmas, and needing to chart her own way thru the field of deliverance 🙂

💚 it was nice to have some history of the hop fields and hop picking (and it's demise) - i wonder if there is a hop museum in the area, or if the author drew that from somewhere else... 🙂🤔

💚 i liked the Frume Valley setting 🙂

💚 there were some good ghostly and supernatural strands 😯

💚 also strands of politics, racism (especially towards the Gypsies/Roma who featured in the novel - some good highlighing there, rather than reinforcement of prejudices, overall), 'The Countryside' and its culture(s)...

💚 God works in mysterious ways 😃😁 including thru Isabel the vicar Simon's wife, and her very timely revealing of some of the background/history of the area to Lol 😉

💚 and as always, some nice character development of some of the main characters in this series, esp Merrily, Jane and Lol... and in their interactions with each other 🙂


🌳🌿🍃👻🍂🌾🌳


it was all abit tangled, as ever, especially towards the end...

...but tidied itself up, as well as these things can be realistically.
i think it's probably a strength of the series, that it's not generally completely clear cut, squeaky clean and all filed away at the end of the novel, and you're left with questions/things to muse on if so inclined.


🌳🎚🙏⛪🏡🙏🎚🌳


a little oddly the novel ends with chapters 1 and 2.
they were nice concluding chapters tho 🙂


🌟 🌟 🌟 +


accessed as a library audiobook (a continued 'yay!' for Blaenau Gwent libraries 😃), read by Emma Powell.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

The 4th Merrily Watkins book. This one is about possession, not just of the soul but material possession. It's about having stuff but never having enough and wanting more and more.... Greed and how it consumes and makes people assume they are invincible. The story does feel a lot more complicated than it needed to be but it's written so well it all just sort of washes over you. Spooky, not as good as the previous two but still good.

[Barbara K · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like the occasional dollop of ghosts and hauntings and general supernatural creepiness in your reading, by all means try this series.

Merrily Watkins is a Church of England priest and exorcist. Or to use the more politically acceptable phrase, she delivers people and places from the forces of evil. Like an exorcist. She has a teenage daughter of the “spiritual but not religious” persuasion who features prominently in all the books.

This book is set partly in and around a defunct hop kiln, now converted to a house. This story goes back decades and involves the Traveler/Romany culture.

The second plot line is more contemporary, with teenage girls and an Ouija board - and also the Traveler/Romany culture. The two lines never actually intersect, but Merrily is drawn into both.

The plots of these novels tend to be convoluted and intriguing, and the characters are complex as well. You really can say there is never a dull moment in the stories.

[Charlene Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It will soon be summer and time again for me to re-read The Cure of Souls -- it's become a personal tradition to return to the Frome Valley in England as the weather warms. I'll join again with Merrily Watkins as she brushes against the supernatural, along with series regulars Lol Robinson and Frannie Bliss, to solve an old murder. Phil Rickman vividly evokes the heat and haze of summer as he entwines several story lines to provide an engrossing read, if not an entirely satisfying climax. (I won't give the solution away by revealing why satisfaction eluded me.) The Cure of Souls introduced me to a couple of my favorite characters in Rickman's canon: the Rev. Simon St. John and his irrepressible wife, Isabelle. I was intrigued enough to seek them out again in December, the more-traditional horror novel where their story began. These two novels convinced me that Rickman deserves to be better known in the United States, where intelligent and restrained crime fiction with a supernatural touch is hard to come by.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to give it to Phil Rickman - Merrily and her daughter Jane are so beautifully drawn and written. Merrily finds herself caught in a rather confusing web of lies, half truths, and secrets. The problem is her job is on the line. Luckily for her, she has the help of Sophie (I love Sophie).

Rickman not only tackles religion, teen love (go Jane), adult love, Welsh pride, and the whole question of gypsy belief in one book. Not to mention the whole bit about stories, legends, and tales.


The book does start out a bit slow - but the ending sequence of events is brilliant.

It is so nice to read a book where the majority of women get along and are not in competition with each other. The expectation is Howe, but you do those outliers.

Lol comes into his own in this book too.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lol Robinson is living in the Herefordshire countryside and working with Prof Levin who has a recording studio. Lol is starting to write songs again and is toying with the idea of recording some, but it seems like too big a step to make. He is still thinking about Merrily Watkins - Deliverance Consultant to the Diocese of Hereford. Merrily herself has been approached by the mother of a teenage daughter who has suddenly turned against the Church and has started behaving strangely. Merrily is trying to decide whether the girl is possessed or whether it's the normal pains of growing up - writ large.

Merrily is asked to perform an exorcism in a former hop kiln close to where Lol is living. But things are never plain and simple and life is a lot more complicated in the village of Knight's Frome than it at first appears and people are definitely not what they seem. The story gradually builds to an atmospheric and exciting conclusion. This book will keep you reading and will make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. There are some interesting characters - Gareth Stock and his wife who own the apparently haunted former hop kiln; Sally and Al Boswell who own and run the hop museum. There are interesting insights into how hop picking used to be carried out and into Romany beliefs.

I found the characters realistic and believable - the half gypsy Layla - who has the personality and appearance of an adult even though she is still a child; big businessman Allan Henry whose only motivations are money and power and Amy's parents trying to do the best they can for their daughter. The story is complex and enthralling and it is good to see Lol and Merrily working together again. This is the fourth book in the Merrily Watkins series and in my opinion one of the best.

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have now read 4 books in the series and I have not changed my mind about the writing style, content, or characters. If I have learned anything at all from these books, it is to buy only one, not the series, before you get a taste of things to come. These books are like a B rated movie with no real plot, very weak characters, and I have found zero attempts by the author to draw the reader into the would be storyline.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Merrily Watkins, a young widow who is an Anglican priest. She is also an exorcist, working in the diocese's Deliverance Ministry. Even before the film The Exorcist, I was fascinated with the topic, coming across references to possession in my Catholic education.

In this novel, Merrily's daughter has come under the influence of another teen who seems to be dabbling in the supernatural. The plot quickly complicates with old mysteries - a disappeared wife, a young Romany (gypsy) woman who vanished, a haunted hop yard. The complexities of mysteries, and characters results in a nearly 600 page novel. At times, I lost track of who was who. Though everything seems to be wrapped up in some way by the end of the book, there were a few dangling threads for me. My reason for giving it 4 stars is that it is a captivating story, but overly long. I will read more of this series which I quite enjoy, particularly its imperfect heroine.

[Jo Chambers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Merrily Watkins series of detective stories with a paranormal twist is one of my favourites. I love the main characters, the settings and usually the plots. This was the fourth in the series and I thought the weakest of the series so far. Set around the Hereford hop industry and the gypsy community, the story was about spiritual possession. It seemed a bit dated in the side story about Lol and his musical friend. All in all, I was disappointed in this book - it just didn't grab me and make want to keep reading it. I hope the next one is better!

[Doug Bolden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book cost me a couple of sleepless nights (mostly a side-effect of a recovering-from-sick toddler over a holiday break (practically no reading during daylight, early rising, coughing fits and medicine at odd hours)) but it makes a nice start to the year's reading. Fourth in the series of Merrily Watkins book, about a single-mom exorcist brushing up against something like British "cozy"-mysteries and even more against folklore and old politics. Not really a good starting place (the second or third books are better if you want to get right into the Deliverance Ministry aspects, the first is best if you want to get all the characters) because it feels deeply like a middle book: things refer back to previous stories kind of often with many characters mostly make sense with prior experience, while the narrative largely invokes a sense of setting up the next chapter and paving some paths rather than being in any way self-contained.

At least a couple of characters are from another Rickman book altogether, but I can say that you won't necessarily miss much if you read this one, first. A few winks and nods don't make a whole lot of sense, but you can roll with it.

Takes a bit of time to kick off. Possibly the slowest opening in the series so far. By the half way point, it has managed to pick up some considerable speed. This is why I read it for, like, three days before I was invested enough to start staying up well past my exhausted bedtime rather than just dedicate a half-hour to it, here or there. Once it got going, though, it had some steam.

Being the fourth, the patterns set in previous books are mostly here. Merrily has self-doubts, her daughter does some teenage-stuff, rich and powerful people act like asses, a teenage female is a bit spookier than people like, Merrily smokes a lot, Christian mysticism is contrasted and compared to other forms of mysticism (with other forms simultaneously dismissed and defended, both evil and innocent), Merrily pisses off folks, a couple/three things kind of intertwine, Merrily gets told to get laid and have a life outside of the Church, the press gets involved, etc. The book gets some points by playing off Rickman's tropes, largely in three ways: 1) the supernatural is considerably a bit more punchy, here, less esoteric, 2) Merrily and her daughter have a tendency to walk into danger towards the end...which is sort of true here, but not quite so...which upends expectations a little and delightfully misdirects the reader as to the real danger, and 3) the major threads didn't end up all being due to the same source, which was nice since I kept waiting for everything to be related to everything else in the standard fashion. It perhaps loses points because the ending has a few...hmmms. It is a perfectly acceptable ending, mind, but a little of it feels like a wink and a little like there was a some doubt about how to end it.

Maybe more troubling...maybe...is how it handles Romani and Romani-persecution. Being American, it reminds me of "mystic redman" novels where a bunch of rich whites hate on Native Americans and some whites are more cool with the Native culture and what Native Americans there are talk about stuff like how all Native Americans live with the Mother Earth and take lightly and all have mystic powers and some old elder guy goes on a spirit quest to aid the white folk. I mean, it is just like that. Maybe if Rickman played it a little less thick, it would feel less like exoticism. True, it does detail persecution (including the Holocaust), and is genuinely sympathetic, but then it says things like (paraphrasing), "they can all tell the future," and has a steal-your-woman story as a plot point. Eh, flip of the coin, I guess.

After this one, even more invested in the story and still a fan of Rickman, though I suspect if he doesn't sort of upend his general drift by the next book or two I might take a bit of a break from them.

[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- Hua, 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.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another intriguing addition to this series although I often found myself wishing Merrily would show a little more backbone.

[Booniss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry in what has become one of my favourite series.

The Cure of Souls sees Merrily wrestling with how to tell the possessed from the piss takers. It all seems to go horribly wrong when after pulled in different directions by her conscience, instinct, directions from the Church and pressure from the press, she goes ahead with a light exorcism after which a grisly murder is committed. It soon transpires that her daughter Jane is entangled in the same issues, as well as her old friend Lol who makes a welcome reappearance.

The books and Merrily herself tread a fine but perfect balance between the supernatural and the spiritual, and treat religious faith, paganism and atheism with equal respect which I really admire.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series completely fascinates me and this installment was no exception! It's a hard series to categorize and crosses over several genres. But I love the combination of folklore, spirituality, the occult, and the traditions of the Church of England. The characters resonate with me and I find both Merrily and Lol's wisdom in the midst of their insecurities quite refreshing.

I'm not sure why it takes me so long to get to "the next" in the series. I read the last one three years ago! Maybe I'm put off by the length of them - but when I do pick one up, I am always captivated immediately and have found them all very hard to put down. Planning on reading the next one much sooner!!

[dmayr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Failed exorcisms, a nubile young girl dabbling on dark arts, Romany ghosts and seductions in the hop-yard, and murders. Dark and atmospheric and gripping as usual. Took me a while to get through the first few chapters and then as usual, something just clicks and I just had to finish it.

[Mélyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twisty and atmospheric, as usual for this series. And, once again, an opportunity to learn about a topic I never expected to be interested in - hops kilns and cultivation. I’ll think of this novel everytime I drink beer, now.

[Solomonbb · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mystery is good, the books are well written, but there are certain aspects of the series that really detract from it as a whole.

[Gabbiadini · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant addition to this rich character driven series . Merrily is tormented by the consequences of her actions and is ably assisted by an old friend.

[Chuck Slack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine effort but unfortunately one that struggled to hold my attention. Good enough for me to read the next in the series.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The (fictional) Church of England, wishing to change the perception of the medieval concept of exorcism, has formed a new branch, Deliverance Ministry. Selected to lead this new endeavor is the Reverend Merrily Watkins, divorced single mom who is devoted to bringing her religion in line with current secular thinking. Merrily is requested to consult on the case of an adolescent girl whose mother suspects demonic possession. Merrily is concerned, becoming even more so when she hears that her own 16 year old daughter may play a role in this problem. At the same time, the reverend becomes reluctantly involved in an even more ominous case, reverberations from a gruesome murder that took place in a hop-kiln that's being converted to a residence. Soon Merrily finds herself embroiled in local politics, past and present, and a malignant force too murky to be identified.

Set in England's picturesque, historic Marches, The Cure of Souls is a seamless blend of mystery and paranormal elements, one that incorporates historic themes (the Lady of the Bines) and modern pressures that are all too real. Rickman writes beautifully, with subtlety, and it's often hard to decide what's "real" and what's supernatural. Though classified as horror, his Watkins series might more accurately be considered as eerily suspenseful, rarely containing the stuff of nightmares, and this is what makes them so compelling and credible. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, the existence of evil is virtually certain, and Rickman's novels, with their engaging characters and intelligent, riveting plots, should captivate fans of both mystery and the paranormal.

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot say enough good things about this book! I admit I was skeptical of this one, because I wasn't sure that I wanted to learn more about hops, but Mr. Rickman made it so thoroughly interesting. This book, like all of his books I've read so far, can be likened to a 5 course meal that should be savored and appreciated every step of the way. The mysteries, and there are two, are quite interesting. Mr. Rickman is the king of the slow build. Then, he kicks it into high gear and you are in for a ride! I found the Romany aspect of the story captivating. I learned some things I didn't know about them, though I won't go into detail, because I don't want to give anything away.
Merrily is one of the most likable characters in a mystery series that I've ever had the pleasure of getting to know. And you do feel like you know her. I love that she is like the rest of us. Merrily is going through life with its ups and downs like the rest of us trying to muddle through. I love her devotion to her Christian faith that I share, although I'm Catholic not C of E. I'm also quite fond of her small circle of friends and confidants.
My advice: JUST READ THIS BOOK!!!

[Peter Cresswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered Phil Rickman completely by accident, and I am so glad I did.
As per usual from page 1 I was hooked as I was in the first book in the series. Beautifully realised characters, lovely flowing prose and all backed up by damn good stories.
This time the Rev Merrily Watkins gets herself in more trouble than usual as what should be a straightforward exorcism (like what could possibly go wrong) turns into a web of lies, deaths (present and past), and of course gypsies.
Not to mention the very real possibility that all the trouble she finds herself in trying to help people may just bring about her expulsion from the clergy.
Great read, highly recomended.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another gripping read: Gypsies and ghosts and murder in rural England. The paranormal horror aspects are slowly increasing with each book (there is some grisly slashing and stabbing in this one) but the writing continues to be very engaging, enough so to keep me reading in a genre which does not usually interest me.

I’m very much enjoying the recurring characters: I was glad to see Lol back in town, and I like Jane’s Welsh boyfriend.

This is set in hops-growing country in Herefordshire. I often read in old books (most recently in Of Human Bondage) about poor families leaving London to go on “holiday” to harvest hops.

[Lisa Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the Merrily Watkins series. Merrily is a chain smoking fireball of an Anglican deliverance minister. In other words, she does exorcisms in Great Britain usually on the Welsh border where all kinds of strange things happen. This is my favorite novel in the series so far. I really like the character of her boyfriend, Lol, and I found some great music due to this novel (Nick Drake-- "Time of No Reply", anyone?). The whole series is worth reading. The author is agnostic, by the way.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. What a close-knit mix of the paranormal, the spiritual and the psychological in this fourth novel of Rev. Merrily Watkins! Too much, perhaps?
I really like the recurring characters, and the story was original and well constructed, although it didn't quite grab me as much as the first three. The Romany magic was maybe a bit far-fetched for me, a simple gaujo, but that hasn't put me off the series.

[Kevin Darbyshire · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really like the characters but the storyline is so ridiculous that I have decided to give up on the series. Phil Rickman is obviously a very talented author but the books get more preposterous. I got to the end but it was difficult as the story just became more unrealistic and bizarre. I found the sexual elements in the story a bit distasteful and rather gratuitous. I am mystified at all the five star ratings for this book unless I am really missing something. Not for me.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

The complicated little village of Knight's Frome and the complicated Shelbone family give Merrily Watkins more challenges to her faith as well as challenges to her ability to fulfill her duties as 'Deliverance Minister' in this read. In the last pages of the book Merrily verbalizes her plight: " I don't deserve any of you...I just...flounder about from one irrational scenario to another, making a balls of things, coming to false conclusions - appealing to God, apologizing to God... being terrified of coming one day to reject God." It's hard to tell who is helping her and who is laying obstacles in her path though early on the reappearance of the beguiling Lol Robinson (love that Lol) provides her with unwavering support; it's up to the reader to decide if God is really meeting Merrily half way or not. Jane mixes into Merrily's affairs more than a little and brings her boyfriend Eirion (now an 'item') with her. We learn about hops, hop kilns, exorcism and Romanies (gypsies) in this one. Recommended for those who have enjoyed the previous books in Rickman's series.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

It had been years since I'd first enjoyed the first three books in Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins series. Then the day came when I saw the next three sitting on my bookshelf, and I knew it was time to pick up book four, The Cure of Souls. Rickman knows how to blend many elements into a compelling, atmospheric tale.

There's the element of the supernatural that makes the story a tiny bit eery, even though the cause of mayhem is always rooted in very earthbound human behavior. There's the element of setting in which I always learn something about the area. In The Cure of Souls, this element is threefold: a bit about the history of hop growing and picking, the making of guitars, and Romany (gypsy) traditions. There's the ecclesiastical element which is done with a light touch. There's the strong element of mystery which keeps readers wondering what in the world is going on, and then there's my favorite-- the element of character. I truly enjoy the characters in this book.

Merrily Watkins is a woman with a true calling. She wants to do good. She wants to help her fellow human beings. She wants to raise her teenage daughter to be a good person, and she's still not convinced that she's the right priest for the job of diocese exorcist, but she's working hard to learn as much about it as she can. She has to work hard because too many people still look at her and think, "You're the wrong sex, you're too young, you're too small."

At the beginning of this series, I couldn't stand Merrily's daughter, Jane. Jane just got right up my nose, but I'm happy to say that, as she gets older, she's begun to realize that the world doesn't revolve around her and she needs to take other people into account. She's got good instincts in this book, and it's fun to watch the evolution of her character.

I love how Rickman begins his tales with overtones of the supernatural-- Ouija boards, fortune tellers, demonic possession, ghosts-- and then turns everything inside out to show how the mystery is actually rooted in the here and now. That takes skill, and when that skill is joined with an atmospheric setting and a strong cast of characters, it turns this series into a winner.