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Merrily Watkins #15
The Fever of the World
THE FIFTEENTH INSTALMENT IN THE MERRILY WATKINS SERIES
The River Wye, according to local folklore, takes a life every year. But in the lower Wye Valley something truly evil is stirring and the locals can sense it.
TV star Arlo Ripley seeks solace in a church at the water's edge. But a famous face always attracts attention and if he thinks he can hide his failings, he couldn't be more wrong. Up river, an ambitious writer thinks she's uncovering Wordsworth's stranger secrets while an urban career-criminal, newly out of prison, assures a sceptical DI Frannie Bliss that he's left his old life behind to find an unlikely pastoral peace.
Enter diocesan exorcist Merrily Watkins. As she wades into the murky depths, Merrily discovers that the darkest and most disturbing evil doesn't always involve murder...
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2021
81 people are currently reading
328 people want to read
About the author
Phil Rickman
58 books805 followersPhil Rickman, also known under the pen names Thom Madley and Will Kingdom, was a British author of supernatural and mystery novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
June 4, 2022
Welcoming old friends and places back
I am terrible at expressing myself, more so since I've entered my seventies, but I shall try.
There is no other series quite like Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins books. The characters are so well drawn that they've come to feel like old friends, and I can picture the beauty and mystery of the Welsh border from his descriptions.
So, if you love a very well written mystery, with a touch of the paranormal, check this out. Better yet, read the whole series.
I am terrible at expressing myself, more so since I've entered my seventies, but I shall try.
There is no other series quite like Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins books. The characters are so well drawn that they've come to feel like old friends, and I can picture the beauty and mystery of the Welsh border from his descriptions.
So, if you love a very well written mystery, with a touch of the paranormal, check this out. Better yet, read the whole series.
June 8, 2022
I was really pleased to hear that Phil Rickman was writing again and started the new Merrily Watkins as soon as it came out.
As always with this series I found it equal parts entertaining and infuriating. The fact that I'm still reading them 16 books into the series suggests that entertainment continues to win out!
On the plus side I love the way Rickman delves into a particular person and place in each book, in this case Wordsworth and the Wye. I always end up wanting to visit the places described or read the works mentioned. There are also a great set of regular characters - Merrily herself, her annoying daughter Jane, the lovely Lol, sensible Sophie, crazy Huw Owen, policeman Frannie Bliss and the wonderful Gomer Parry, someone we would all like in our lives. In fact the whole gang feel like old friends and it was good to catch-up again.
On the downside, the plot was a bit all over the place and the different elements didn't seem to tie together at all. It was interesting to see the way covid became seen as another nail in the coffin of the church, but the depiction of lockdown seemed erratic and could have been scarier and more isolating. The early books were genuinely scary but lately they dwell more on improbable pagan beliefs that fail to convince.
As always there were long pages of dialogue where characters talk all around a subject and fail to come to the point. Merrily just sits there, occasionally interjecting with "I'm not sure what you're trying to say" type comments. You and me both! Huw is normally the worst culprit, but even normally sensible Sophie gets in on the act in this one.
Most annoying is Jane, who continues to believe every ludicrous thing she's told with no hint of proof or evidence, and no discrimination. Rationality and science do not always equate with a lack of wonder. Truth is often stranger and more beautiful than fiction.
All in all, not the greatest book in the series but lovely to have the gang back, and Phil Rickman too. Here's hoping for a 17th!
As always with this series I found it equal parts entertaining and infuriating. The fact that I'm still reading them 16 books into the series suggests that entertainment continues to win out!
On the plus side I love the way Rickman delves into a particular person and place in each book, in this case Wordsworth and the Wye. I always end up wanting to visit the places described or read the works mentioned. There are also a great set of regular characters - Merrily herself, her annoying daughter Jane, the lovely Lol, sensible Sophie, crazy Huw Owen, policeman Frannie Bliss and the wonderful Gomer Parry, someone we would all like in our lives. In fact the whole gang feel like old friends and it was good to catch-up again.
On the downside, the plot was a bit all over the place and the different elements didn't seem to tie together at all. It was interesting to see the way covid became seen as another nail in the coffin of the church, but the depiction of lockdown seemed erratic and could have been scarier and more isolating. The early books were genuinely scary but lately they dwell more on improbable pagan beliefs that fail to convince.
As always there were long pages of dialogue where characters talk all around a subject and fail to come to the point. Merrily just sits there, occasionally interjecting with "I'm not sure what you're trying to say" type comments. You and me both! Huw is normally the worst culprit, but even normally sensible Sophie gets in on the act in this one.
Most annoying is Jane, who continues to believe every ludicrous thing she's told with no hint of proof or evidence, and no discrimination. Rationality and science do not always equate with a lack of wonder. Truth is often stranger and more beautiful than fiction.
All in all, not the greatest book in the series but lovely to have the gang back, and Phil Rickman too. Here's hoping for a 17th!
June 7, 2022
Waited 5 years for this book. Totally worth it. Desperate for next one now, of course!
June 9, 2022
It seems like half a lifetime since there was a Merrily Watkins novel – it was All of a Winter’s Night back in 2017 and there has been one hell of a lot of water under the bridge for all of us since then including, sadly, Phil Rickman suffering serious illness. His many fans will join me in hoping that he is on the mend, and at last we have a new book!
Now, as another celebrated solver of mysteries once said, “The game’s afoot!” We are in relatively modern times, March 2020, and the Covid Curse has begun to cast its awful spell. The senior Anglican clergy, including the Bishop of Hereford, are relentlessly determined to be woker than woke, and have decided that exorcism – or, to use the other term, deliverance – is the stuff or the middle ages, and clergy are being advised to refer any strange events to the NHS mental health teams. This, of course, puts Merrily Watkins’ ‘night job’ under threat. She and her mentor Huw Owen know that some people experience events which cannot simply be the result of their poor mental health.
The Merrily Watkins novels have a template. This is not to say they are formulaic in a derogatory sense. The template involves a crime – most often a murder or mysterious death. This is investigated by the West Mercia police, usually in the form of Inspector Frannie Bliss. The investigation then reveals what appear to be supernatural or paranormal characteristics, which then secures the involvement of the Rev. Merrily Watkins, vicar of Ledwardine.
Here, a prominent Hereford estate agent and enthusiastic rock climber, Peter Portis, has plummeted to his death from one of the peaks of a Wye Valley rock formation known as The Seven Sisters. A tragic accident? Perhaps. A parallel plot develops. In another parish, the vicar – a former TV actor called Arlo Ripley – has asked Merrily for help. One of his flock has reported seeing the spectre of a young girl and isn’t sure what to do. Enter, stage left, William Wordsworth. Not in person, obviously, but on a visit to the Wye Valley, the poet apparently met a young girl who claimed she could communicate with her dead siblings. The result was his poem We are Seven. That, and Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey are the spine of this novel. The girl who has entered the life of Maya Madden – a TV producer renting a cottage in the village of Goodrich – seems to be one and the same as Wordsworth’s muse.
Enter, stage right, another Hereford copper, David Vaynor. Nicknamed ‘Darth’ by his boss Frannie Bliss, he is an unusual chap. For starters, he has a PhD in English literature, and his thesis was based on Wordsworth’s time in Herefordshire. To add to the strangeness, while he was researching his work, he went into what is known as King Arthur’s Cave, a natural cavity in the rock close to where Portis met his end. While he was in there, he has a residual memory of sinking – exhausted – into what was a natural rock chair – and then being visited by a succubus.¹
Yes, yes, – the poor lad was tired, a bit hormonal and having bad dreams. But wait. As Vaynor is doing his job, and interviewing those who knew Portis, he meets his daughter in law, and she reminds him horribly of the woman he ‘met’ on that fateful afternoon in King Arthur’s Cave.
This has everything Merrily Watkins fans – and newcomers to the series – could want. A deep sense of unease, matchless atmosphere – the funeral held in fading light in a virtually disused churchyard, for example – the wonderful ambiguity of Rickman’s approach to the supernatural – we never actually see the phantoms, but we are aware that other people have – the wonderful repertory company of characters who interact so well, and also a deep sense that the past is never far away. There is also a palpable sense of irony that ‘the fever of the world’ is not just a metaphor from a Wordsworth poem, but was actually happening as the coronavirus took hold.
The Fever of the World is published by Corvus/Atlantic books and is out now.
¹A succubus is a demon or supernatural entity in folklore, in female form, that appears in dreams to seduce men, usually through sexual activity.
Now, as another celebrated solver of mysteries once said, “The game’s afoot!” We are in relatively modern times, March 2020, and the Covid Curse has begun to cast its awful spell. The senior Anglican clergy, including the Bishop of Hereford, are relentlessly determined to be woker than woke, and have decided that exorcism – or, to use the other term, deliverance – is the stuff or the middle ages, and clergy are being advised to refer any strange events to the NHS mental health teams. This, of course, puts Merrily Watkins’ ‘night job’ under threat. She and her mentor Huw Owen know that some people experience events which cannot simply be the result of their poor mental health.
The Merrily Watkins novels have a template. This is not to say they are formulaic in a derogatory sense. The template involves a crime – most often a murder or mysterious death. This is investigated by the West Mercia police, usually in the form of Inspector Frannie Bliss. The investigation then reveals what appear to be supernatural or paranormal characteristics, which then secures the involvement of the Rev. Merrily Watkins, vicar of Ledwardine.
Here, a prominent Hereford estate agent and enthusiastic rock climber, Peter Portis, has plummeted to his death from one of the peaks of a Wye Valley rock formation known as The Seven Sisters. A tragic accident? Perhaps. A parallel plot develops. In another parish, the vicar – a former TV actor called Arlo Ripley – has asked Merrily for help. One of his flock has reported seeing the spectre of a young girl and isn’t sure what to do. Enter, stage left, William Wordsworth. Not in person, obviously, but on a visit to the Wye Valley, the poet apparently met a young girl who claimed she could communicate with her dead siblings. The result was his poem We are Seven. That, and Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey are the spine of this novel. The girl who has entered the life of Maya Madden – a TV producer renting a cottage in the village of Goodrich – seems to be one and the same as Wordsworth’s muse.
Enter, stage right, another Hereford copper, David Vaynor. Nicknamed ‘Darth’ by his boss Frannie Bliss, he is an unusual chap. For starters, he has a PhD in English literature, and his thesis was based on Wordsworth’s time in Herefordshire. To add to the strangeness, while he was researching his work, he went into what is known as King Arthur’s Cave, a natural cavity in the rock close to where Portis met his end. While he was in there, he has a residual memory of sinking – exhausted – into what was a natural rock chair – and then being visited by a succubus.¹
Yes, yes, – the poor lad was tired, a bit hormonal and having bad dreams. But wait. As Vaynor is doing his job, and interviewing those who knew Portis, he meets his daughter in law, and she reminds him horribly of the woman he ‘met’ on that fateful afternoon in King Arthur’s Cave.
This has everything Merrily Watkins fans – and newcomers to the series – could want. A deep sense of unease, matchless atmosphere – the funeral held in fading light in a virtually disused churchyard, for example – the wonderful ambiguity of Rickman’s approach to the supernatural – we never actually see the phantoms, but we are aware that other people have – the wonderful repertory company of characters who interact so well, and also a deep sense that the past is never far away. There is also a palpable sense of irony that ‘the fever of the world’ is not just a metaphor from a Wordsworth poem, but was actually happening as the coronavirus took hold.
The Fever of the World is published by Corvus/Atlantic books and is out now.
¹A succubus is a demon or supernatural entity in folklore, in female form, that appears in dreams to seduce men, usually through sexual activity.
August 1, 2022
It has been a long wait for this book. Apparently Phil Rickman has been ill, so he's forgiven for that, unfortunately though the book was rather a disappointment. It was lovely to catch up with all the characters again, but the story was so disjointed and Jane is getting annoying - she doesn't seem to have matured much since she was fifteen at the start of the series.
Hoping the next book is back to Phil Rickman's usual standard.
Hoping the next book is back to Phil Rickman's usual standard.
June 16, 2022
Not one of Phil Rickmans best books. Very bitty. to be honest I found it was rubbish very disappointed
November 24, 2025
What a disappointment! 😟 I have read every book in this series and am a huge fan. However, this was not up to the author's usual standard. It started okay, but the plotting soon turned into a hot mess. You always have to be prepared to suspend disbelief a little with these books, but this one had too many disparate plot threads that were made to connect in totally forced and unconvincing ways. I literally didn't understand what was happening or was being said a lot of the time, and all of the (usually likeable) characters were either annoying stereotypes of themselves (Jane's immaturity and willingness to believe in any old pseudo-pagan mumbo jumbo) or acted completely out of character (Sophie). These books are usually an interesting and original mix of the criminal and the mystical, but this novel failed on both counts. The crimes weren't properly solved, and the mystical elements were unconvincing and incoherent. There are also several elements of the plot that feel like they've dragged on far too long - the precariousness of Merrily's job, Jane's neverending "gap year", and Merrily and Lol's unresolved relationship status. Ah well! Let's hope things pick up in the next instalment...
UPDATE November 2025: I've only just found that that Phil Rickman died in October 2024. I'm so sad, and it's such a loss 😥. I feel bad about how critical I was of this book, as he was apparently very ill when he wrote it. Just about to buy his last book The Echo of Crows, which I will now be reading with very mixed feelings...
UPDATE November 2025: I've only just found that that Phil Rickman died in October 2024. I'm so sad, and it's such a loss 😥. I feel bad about how critical I was of this book, as he was apparently very ill when he wrote it. Just about to buy his last book The Echo of Crows, which I will now be reading with very mixed feelings...
Want to read
January 3, 2022After several publishing date delays, my pre-order has been cancelled. :(:(:(
UPDATE: A hardcover titled "Nights of the Lingering Ghost" is now available for pre-order. Same cover image. Hopefully an ebook version will be available soon.
FURTHER UPDATE: Amazon has "The Fever of the World" available for pre-order in hardcover form, and "Nights of the Lingering Ghost" available for pre-order as an audio book. I'm guessing the former is the UK title, and the latter, the US one.
UPDATE: A hardcover titled "Nights of the Lingering Ghost" is now available for pre-order. Same cover image. Hopefully an ebook version will be available soon.
FURTHER UPDATE: Amazon has "The Fever of the World" available for pre-order in hardcover form, and "Nights of the Lingering Ghost" available for pre-order as an audio book. I'm guessing the former is the UK title, and the latter, the US one.
June 11, 2022
Phil Rickman is an outstandingly good writer, brilliant at characterisation, theme, plot, dialogue. Most of his books touch on some sort of evil/creepiness, which is not to say they are horror novels. Not at all. His Merrily Watkins series, now up to 17 books, I think, deal with a young woman vicar who is also diocesan exorcist. Over the series the cast of characters had grown, and they are all given their developing personal stories that tie into the main plot. This latest one only gets 4 stars from me instead of the usual 5 because, as many readers have found, after what I gather was a long illness Mr Rickman had to hurry to finish this long-awaited one. The last 1/4 therefore falls apart a little, but it's set in the early days of the Covid pandemic and that atmosphere affects characters as much as plot. I honestly recommend Phil Rickman's books, all of them, including the non-Merrily ones, as coming from a really top writer. Books you really can't put down.
September 18, 2022
It is not one of my favourite entries in the series, but it has the usual ingredients (a mix of historical, cultural, supernatural and spiritual vibes, beautiful natural settings, and a rather down-to-earth solution to the mystery in the end despite all the magical atmosphere). It’s kind of weird to see COVID and lockdowns pop up in some of our favourite series now, though.
August 3, 2025
Merrily has had her day, as has Frannie Bliss. Go back to the earlier pre-Merrily style, Mr Rickman. As a novel, it's still a good read but as a Phil Rickman book, it's not the best.
June 7, 2022
Cryptic
This is difficult as I have read everything Phil Rickman has ever written and loved it all. But this is possibly one of the most unsettling of his books. I almost didn't read it as I generally avoid anything with the virus as a storyline, even though its a valid approach. I think I'll have to read it again much later, possibly on audiobook to get a better sense of it.
This is difficult as I have read everything Phil Rickman has ever written and loved it all. But this is possibly one of the most unsettling of his books. I almost didn't read it as I generally avoid anything with the virus as a storyline, even though its a valid approach. I think I'll have to read it again much later, possibly on audiobook to get a better sense of it.
June 6, 2022
It ended too soon. I’ve read and enjoyed all the Merrily Watkins Mysteries. Wonderful to find another one, and I read straight through.
July 6, 2022
Very disappointing
By the way, the version of this I read was titled Fever of the World. That was the cleverest part of the whole book. No idea why it's shown here with a different title.
I love Merrily Watkins and this series is amazing, but this one really lets the rest down. Virtually nothing happens in this story. It starts well, with an interesting death, but then no one seems to care much, Frannie Bliss and his new side kick can't find evidence of wrong doing, and literally ever character wanders around quoting and/ or mansplaining Wordsworth. Every thing is confused and disjoint and it's hard to work out why people are feeling disturbed.
Sophie's character seems particularly misused.
If you're going to make such a HUGE thing about Wordsworth, then the actual plot resolution should have something to do with him. It didn't.
The demise of the character who might have caused it all is just silly, covid doesn't work like that.
The whole book seems to have been written around the coincidence of a line of Wordsworth's being able to be used for a title for a book set in covid times.
A good copy editor may have helped this book. There is SO much telling not showing. Much of the stuff about Wordsworth covers the same things multiple times. An editor should have caught that.
It could also have done with a thorough line edit. There were whole paragraphs repeated.
Nice to catch up with the team, but not the usual enthralling read.
By the way, the version of this I read was titled Fever of the World. That was the cleverest part of the whole book. No idea why it's shown here with a different title.
I love Merrily Watkins and this series is amazing, but this one really lets the rest down. Virtually nothing happens in this story. It starts well, with an interesting death, but then no one seems to care much, Frannie Bliss and his new side kick can't find evidence of wrong doing, and literally ever character wanders around quoting and/ or mansplaining Wordsworth. Every thing is confused and disjoint and it's hard to work out why people are feeling disturbed.
Sophie's character seems particularly misused.
If you're going to make such a HUGE thing about Wordsworth, then the actual plot resolution should have something to do with him. It didn't.
The demise of the character who might have caused it all is just silly, covid doesn't work like that.
The whole book seems to have been written around the coincidence of a line of Wordsworth's being able to be used for a title for a book set in covid times.
A good copy editor may have helped this book. There is SO much telling not showing. Much of the stuff about Wordsworth covers the same things multiple times. An editor should have caught that.
It could also have done with a thorough line edit. There were whole paragraphs repeated.
Nice to catch up with the team, but not the usual enthralling read.
September 9, 2022
I'm not quite sure why there is a different book 15 on Goodreads (and two versions of this); this is the "real" 15th book in the series. I understand Phil has been serious ill and has taken two years to recover and the previous book was suspended and a replacement written. I'm not sure quite how the continuity from book 14 is (or isnt) dealt with. Having finished, I understand the continuity. The books cover a period of around 5 years now, but this book is set in March 2020, whereas the first book was effectively set quite a few years earlier than 2015.
Since I dont generally do spoilers, I'll just set out impression of this book. My impression is that the Covid aspects of the Story fitting better with mid-April to June rather than the initial lockdown in late March, from my memory of that time living in central London. I'm not entirely sure that the 2020 lockdown setting helps the story at all either. As I often ponder when I finish one of Phil's more geographically orientated stories, I wonder how much of this background is based in truth/"fact" and how much is his invention. I find this background very intriguing and interesting, which is one of the many reasons I love this novel series. I find Jane's University or not saga a bit boring and I'm not entirely sure why her character keeps changing her mind. I do wonder if its more that the author cant stand to lose her character during the three years at University more than anything else.
The story is interesting and fascinating in terms in background and setting, but at no point did i find the mystery Merrily gets involved in particular satisfying. I found the resolution came much too soon in narrative terms, before the book had really got there.
Since I dont generally do spoilers, I'll just set out impression of this book. My impression is that the Covid aspects of the Story fitting better with mid-April to June rather than the initial lockdown in late March, from my memory of that time living in central London. I'm not entirely sure that the 2020 lockdown setting helps the story at all either. As I often ponder when I finish one of Phil's more geographically orientated stories, I wonder how much of this background is based in truth/"fact" and how much is his invention. I find this background very intriguing and interesting, which is one of the many reasons I love this novel series. I find Jane's University or not saga a bit boring and I'm not entirely sure why her character keeps changing her mind. I do wonder if its more that the author cant stand to lose her character during the three years at University more than anything else.
The story is interesting and fascinating in terms in background and setting, but at no point did i find the mystery Merrily gets involved in particular satisfying. I found the resolution came much too soon in narrative terms, before the book had really got there.
June 18, 2022
The wait for this 16th episode in the life of the world's most endearing Diocesan Exorcist, Merrily Watkins, has been a long one but, nonetheless definitely worth that wait. Phil Rickman, my absolute favourite author for many years, has pulled the rabbit out of the hat once more.
I will not be including spoilers in this review, suffice to say Merrily, her daughter Jane, Lol Robinson, Gomer Parry et al, are all present in the latest mysterious events to occur in the Wye Valley, on the borders between England and Wales. Deaths occur and the links between the past and the present are blurred at times. I had to ration myself as to how much I would allow myself to read at a time...one of those awful decisions between wanting to know the end but not wanting to finish the book. However all good things do come to an end eventually but all is not lost. Whenever Phil Rickman publishes a novel (whether it's a Merrily mystery or something else,) I always pre-order the Kindle edition and the Audible edition. The Merrily novels are all narrated by the wonderful Emma Powell, who has maintained all her magnificent store of voices throughout the series and deserves the Audible version of an Oscar for her work. So whether you read proper books or, like me have had to transfer to e-books or indeed prefer to listen, the choice is yours.
If you are new to Phil Rickman's wonderful world, it's not too late, they're all still in print and you will do yourself a great disservice if you don't try them. I would highly recommend all of them!
I will not be including spoilers in this review, suffice to say Merrily, her daughter Jane, Lol Robinson, Gomer Parry et al, are all present in the latest mysterious events to occur in the Wye Valley, on the borders between England and Wales. Deaths occur and the links between the past and the present are blurred at times. I had to ration myself as to how much I would allow myself to read at a time...one of those awful decisions between wanting to know the end but not wanting to finish the book. However all good things do come to an end eventually but all is not lost. Whenever Phil Rickman publishes a novel (whether it's a Merrily mystery or something else,) I always pre-order the Kindle edition and the Audible edition. The Merrily novels are all narrated by the wonderful Emma Powell, who has maintained all her magnificent store of voices throughout the series and deserves the Audible version of an Oscar for her work. So whether you read proper books or, like me have had to transfer to e-books or indeed prefer to listen, the choice is yours.
If you are new to Phil Rickman's wonderful world, it's not too late, they're all still in print and you will do yourself a great disservice if you don't try them. I would highly recommend all of them!
June 26, 2022
After an excruciating, extended wait (so pleased you have made a good recovery, Mr Rickman), it was even sweeter than usual to be back amongst friends.
This installment takes Merrily to the river Wye following a peculiar death and during the strange, dark and unsettling times of lockdown. It is set in the area outside of his beloved Cumbria that most inspired Wordsworth; referencing Lyrical Ballads and particularly Lines Written Above Tintern Abbey. I have been a fan of Wordsworth's take on nature since studying Lyrical Ballads at A Level, so finding out more about this was an added attraction for me (if it needed one!).
There are some intriguing landmarks and myths in the novel, as ever with a supernatural flavour and this time a druidic element. Alfred Watkins makes a welcome return too.
There is so much more to this than I can talk about here and I do thoroughly recommend it. I did find it much darker than usual and it left me with a thrill of fear for my Ledwardine friends; I suppose (and hope!) time will tell of their fates.
This installment takes Merrily to the river Wye following a peculiar death and during the strange, dark and unsettling times of lockdown. It is set in the area outside of his beloved Cumbria that most inspired Wordsworth; referencing Lyrical Ballads and particularly Lines Written Above Tintern Abbey. I have been a fan of Wordsworth's take on nature since studying Lyrical Ballads at A Level, so finding out more about this was an added attraction for me (if it needed one!).
There are some intriguing landmarks and myths in the novel, as ever with a supernatural flavour and this time a druidic element. Alfred Watkins makes a welcome return too.
There is so much more to this than I can talk about here and I do thoroughly recommend it. I did find it much darker than usual and it left me with a thrill of fear for my Ledwardine friends; I suppose (and hope!) time will tell of their fates.
February 9, 2025
How green was my reader: Is this really #15 in the series? Blimey, that’s stringing it out a bit. As ever, the wild country of Herefordshire is the star of the show and I fully intend to track down the churches of St Dubricius and St Giles, and the Queen Stone and Far Hearkening Rock when I’m next there. He must give the Landranger series a right good thumbing. According to the afterword the author appears to have been afflicted with covid during the writing of this - poor him - and whilst (spoiler alert) it appears as a potential cause or opportunity, I’m afraid the virus appears to have afflicted Rickman’s usually sharp mind, for The Fever Of The World is a bit all over the place. Some interesting riffing on Wordsworth is offset by a naff parasexual fantasy about succubi, and a woman imagining she’s a peregrine falcon, something that ABBA tried and failed to include a song about in their seminal 1979 album Voulez-Vous. Given the circumstances and the longevity, I can forgive Rickman, and this series, the odd duff entry.
June 19, 2022
Best one yet, haven’t read Merrily for a few years now, so to find this completely by chance made my day. It was like meeting old friends after lock down. Loved the Druidic element and as it was through the pandemic as well made it so real. My favourite until the next one?! You’re a brilliant author Phil
July 16, 2022
Jeg har vært svært begeistret for denne serien, men denne siste i rekken, er ikke god. Mordmysteriet er nærmest ikke-eksisterende. Sidetemaet om William Wordsworth tværet ut, Jane er blitt 21, men fremstår som en irriterende fjortis. Rickmans vidd er nærmest fraværende. Her burde forlagskonsulenten grepet inn.
November 26, 2022
I’ve read the whole series to date and was delighted when this one came out, 5 years after the previous one.
I feel let down.
Confused, clumsy, with grating repeated references to “the virus”. No attempt to explain even the earthly elements of the goings on.
Disappointing. If there’s another book, I’m not sure if I’ll bother.
I feel let down.
Confused, clumsy, with grating repeated references to “the virus”. No attempt to explain even the earthly elements of the goings on.
Disappointing. If there’s another book, I’m not sure if I’ll bother.
December 2, 2025
I love how Phil Rickman writes and this was another good read. Not as good as some of the others but still a lot better than many books out there. Shorter than normal but the previous book in the series was just so brilliant it was always going to be a hard act to follow.
September 7, 2022
Strong, but subtle ending
[spoiler alert]
‘Unlike you,’ he [Bliss] said. ‘I’m norra doctor.’ His voice intensified. ‘And don’t you ever friggin’ dare repeat this to anybody. But I’d say she was also killed by Mrs Watkins.’
I think the ending of “The Fever of the World” is very good, but subtle. So subtle that I missed it the first-time round. I thought, as perhaps do other readers, “is that all?”
However, re-reading it slowly, I realised I was wrong.
[spoiler alert]
Covid-19 is the brooding presence over this book, just as it was in Spring 2020. It distorts, inverts and subverts the natural order. The author, recovering from an ordeal of his own, is pondering his own mortality. As, indeed, did we all in March 2020.
The natural order is that the characters of this series intermesh like the cogs of a well-oiled machine. There are the inner wheels – Lol, Jane, Gomer, Sophie, and the outer wheels – the Bishop, Huw, Barry, Bliss, Vaynor and the like.
In each book, new ideas are fed into the Merrily machine – Wordsworth and Drudism, in this case, and linked to the landscape. Merrily books are books of ‘place’ as much as ‘people’. The inner characters pick up the themes and pass them around between themselves and the ideas gain momentum and a head of steam, until they explode in the second part of the book. Merrily is tossed around in the ensuing chaos, the willing servant of her own downfall.
Until the moment of redemption, the act of divine intervention, which may be believed for a moment, before it is withdrawn beneath clouds of agnostic unknowing.
‘Fever of the World’ subverts this Merrily tradition. For once, Merrily, pushed is to the edge by fear, by the lack of support of her Church and maybe, too, by her God. She does not rely on her St Patrick’s breastplate or on Huw or Sophie.
She is saved by Gomer, Jane, Lol and Lucy Devenish. Lucy, the pagan presence that has willed the whole collection of stories into being.
Only Bliss, the lapsed Catholic, sees that it may not have been the virus, alone, that killed Diana Portis. Perhaps it is Merrily and the powers behind her. God or Lucy’s paganism, which is truer, and therefore more powerful, than Diana’s?
Where next for Merrily: she is cut adrift and vulnerable. She is clinging by a thread, but sometimes that is enough. Perhaps the woman needs a glimpse of good fortune. How much lower can she be taken?
‘Fever of the World’ is s good book – up with the rest of them, but it leaves a sad and lingering impression. It is very powerful because of that.
[spoiler alert]
‘Unlike you,’ he [Bliss] said. ‘I’m norra doctor.’ His voice intensified. ‘And don’t you ever friggin’ dare repeat this to anybody. But I’d say she was also killed by Mrs Watkins.’
I think the ending of “The Fever of the World” is very good, but subtle. So subtle that I missed it the first-time round. I thought, as perhaps do other readers, “is that all?”
However, re-reading it slowly, I realised I was wrong.
[spoiler alert]
Covid-19 is the brooding presence over this book, just as it was in Spring 2020. It distorts, inverts and subverts the natural order. The author, recovering from an ordeal of his own, is pondering his own mortality. As, indeed, did we all in March 2020.
The natural order is that the characters of this series intermesh like the cogs of a well-oiled machine. There are the inner wheels – Lol, Jane, Gomer, Sophie, and the outer wheels – the Bishop, Huw, Barry, Bliss, Vaynor and the like.
In each book, new ideas are fed into the Merrily machine – Wordsworth and Drudism, in this case, and linked to the landscape. Merrily books are books of ‘place’ as much as ‘people’. The inner characters pick up the themes and pass them around between themselves and the ideas gain momentum and a head of steam, until they explode in the second part of the book. Merrily is tossed around in the ensuing chaos, the willing servant of her own downfall.
Until the moment of redemption, the act of divine intervention, which may be believed for a moment, before it is withdrawn beneath clouds of agnostic unknowing.
‘Fever of the World’ subverts this Merrily tradition. For once, Merrily, pushed is to the edge by fear, by the lack of support of her Church and maybe, too, by her God. She does not rely on her St Patrick’s breastplate or on Huw or Sophie.
She is saved by Gomer, Jane, Lol and Lucy Devenish. Lucy, the pagan presence that has willed the whole collection of stories into being.
Only Bliss, the lapsed Catholic, sees that it may not have been the virus, alone, that killed Diana Portis. Perhaps it is Merrily and the powers behind her. God or Lucy’s paganism, which is truer, and therefore more powerful, than Diana’s?
Where next for Merrily: she is cut adrift and vulnerable. She is clinging by a thread, but sometimes that is enough. Perhaps the woman needs a glimpse of good fortune. How much lower can she be taken?
‘Fever of the World’ is s good book – up with the rest of them, but it leaves a sad and lingering impression. It is very powerful because of that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2022
This review contains minor spoilers.
I have given the entire Merrily Watkins series 4 stars; but Fever of the World just fell a little…flat. It was nice to catch up with old friends and see that everyone was in a good place: Merrily and Lol, Frannie and Annie, even Jane and Eirion; despite the backdrop of the early days of the pandemic. I usually walk away from a Rickman novel wondering if it was exceptionally cryptic or if I’ve just failed to put all the pieces together. I chalk some of my struggles up to being from the States and not having the benefit of a shared cultural background. I think that was to some extent definitely a problem with this installment. I really was thinking, “I think I get it but…. that’s it? It seems…underwhelming”. Then I really thought about the landscape, and what it would be like to be right in the heart of it, to be next to the Queen Stone; and I don’t think I can even conceptualize how profound an experience that would be.
Still, I have questions. What was the point of the spectral dead kids manifesting to Maya Madden, the TV producer doing the series on Wordsworth? Was it just to highlight the increased activity in the landscape – what with the past suspicion of haunting and exorcism of place by Canon Dobbs, the 250th anniversary of Wordsworth who worshipped nature and may have tapped into some of the ancient druid magic of the place, and the current druid activity with the lovely Diana Portis? Speaking of which, how exactly did Diana Portis “call down” her father-in-law from the Seventh Sister rock? Through an ancient druid ritual or with a foot to his back? Why is the word succubus treated like the pre-Trump era “P” word? And why was detective Darth Vaynor succubied? Just a wrong place, wrong time sitch? His tapping into the energy or Wordsworth, just his presence in King Arthur’s Cave or all of the above? Finally, why exactly does the C of E shy away from the paranormal? Why is deliverance and the Night Job being phased out? Without the paranormal, isn’t religion and the Church just a social club?
Fever of the World was solid. I liked it and I’ll keep reading the series. But it didn’t create the kind of page turning interest of previous installments. Not until the last 10% when things started coming together – hence 3 stars.
I have given the entire Merrily Watkins series 4 stars; but Fever of the World just fell a little…flat. It was nice to catch up with old friends and see that everyone was in a good place: Merrily and Lol, Frannie and Annie, even Jane and Eirion; despite the backdrop of the early days of the pandemic. I usually walk away from a Rickman novel wondering if it was exceptionally cryptic or if I’ve just failed to put all the pieces together. I chalk some of my struggles up to being from the States and not having the benefit of a shared cultural background. I think that was to some extent definitely a problem with this installment. I really was thinking, “I think I get it but…. that’s it? It seems…underwhelming”. Then I really thought about the landscape, and what it would be like to be right in the heart of it, to be next to the Queen Stone; and I don’t think I can even conceptualize how profound an experience that would be.
Still, I have questions. What was the point of the spectral dead kids manifesting to Maya Madden, the TV producer doing the series on Wordsworth? Was it just to highlight the increased activity in the landscape – what with the past suspicion of haunting and exorcism of place by Canon Dobbs, the 250th anniversary of Wordsworth who worshipped nature and may have tapped into some of the ancient druid magic of the place, and the current druid activity with the lovely Diana Portis? Speaking of which, how exactly did Diana Portis “call down” her father-in-law from the Seventh Sister rock? Through an ancient druid ritual or with a foot to his back? Why is the word succubus treated like the pre-Trump era “P” word? And why was detective Darth Vaynor succubied? Just a wrong place, wrong time sitch? His tapping into the energy or Wordsworth, just his presence in King Arthur’s Cave or all of the above? Finally, why exactly does the C of E shy away from the paranormal? Why is deliverance and the Night Job being phased out? Without the paranormal, isn’t religion and the Church just a social club?
Fever of the World was solid. I liked it and I’ll keep reading the series. But it didn’t create the kind of page turning interest of previous installments. Not until the last 10% when things started coming together – hence 3 stars.
June 29, 2023
To sustain a series this long-running, Rickman has set up a formula. And it's a pretty good one. Have an emotionally complex cast of characters (notably chiefly for their various kinds of vulnerability, productive of perpetual crisis) stationed in a small town (Ledwardine), a symbolic centre or centres (hinted at or frankly identified in the book title), some real-life supernatural lore or lores grounded in the specific geography of the Welsh Border, and a police procedural (usually murder). The satisfactions are complex and multifarious.
The machine is complex, though, and often takes a bit to cough into life. I would imagine it would be difficult to join the series at volume 16, because Rickman has a lot to do in the first 150 pp. or so: check in on Merrily and Lol, Jane, Gomer, Frannie and Annie, Sophie; delve into supernatural geography; dig into the complexity of a symbol (in this case, fever . . . in this case, a mashup of COVID, Church of England malaise, and Wordsworthian genius); and start up a mystery.
I quite liked the first movement, actually. It's in no hurry, and the satisfactions are the satisfactions of a skilled author handling a formula. I knew what to expect, and I was also surprised. People who think the books start slowly perhaps are not fully appreciating all the elements of the formula.
Oddly enough, the farther I read, the less invested I became. Perhaps because, this far on, the apocalyptic gloom of the onset of COVID has thoroughly dispersed, and it's hard to enter emotionally back into how the world seemed like it was ending. The apocalypse hadn't come yet, and so the book ended even more ambiguously than usual, hinting at further revelation that it's hard to imagine would come in 2023. The Wordsworth stuff seemed very strong and interesting to me, the highlight of the book (along with the dryly clever dialogue whose energy always serves to moderate the series's melancholy). It doesn't quite come off, as it would in the best novels of this series. But it is very much a book characteristic of most of the pleasures of this series.
The machine is complex, though, and often takes a bit to cough into life. I would imagine it would be difficult to join the series at volume 16, because Rickman has a lot to do in the first 150 pp. or so: check in on Merrily and Lol, Jane, Gomer, Frannie and Annie, Sophie; delve into supernatural geography; dig into the complexity of a symbol (in this case, fever . . . in this case, a mashup of COVID, Church of England malaise, and Wordsworthian genius); and start up a mystery.
I quite liked the first movement, actually. It's in no hurry, and the satisfactions are the satisfactions of a skilled author handling a formula. I knew what to expect, and I was also surprised. People who think the books start slowly perhaps are not fully appreciating all the elements of the formula.
Oddly enough, the farther I read, the less invested I became. Perhaps because, this far on, the apocalyptic gloom of the onset of COVID has thoroughly dispersed, and it's hard to enter emotionally back into how the world seemed like it was ending. The apocalypse hadn't come yet, and so the book ended even more ambiguously than usual, hinting at further revelation that it's hard to imagine would come in 2023. The Wordsworth stuff seemed very strong and interesting to me, the highlight of the book (along with the dryly clever dialogue whose energy always serves to moderate the series's melancholy). It doesn't quite come off, as it would in the best novels of this series. But it is very much a book characteristic of most of the pleasures of this series.
August 23, 2022
This is the latest most welcome addition in Phil Rickman's dark, supernatural with elements of horror series featuring deliverance consultant, Reverend Merrily Watkins. It is the first one that I have listened to on audio, narrated by Emma Powell, 9 hours and 13 minutes long. I was surprised at how good the audio is, but really I should not have been, there is something about being read an eerie supernatural story that effortlessly ensnares the total attention of the listener, a long tradition that comes into its own in the dark autumn and winter nights. This is set at the beginnings of the pandemic, with Huw Owens and Merrily considering their future with the bishop and the Anglican church turning its back on their deliverance role, with the clergy urged to refer people to the NHS mental health teams.
There is the strange fall to his death of prominent Hereford estate agent and experienced climber, Peter Portis, close to King Arthur's cave, from the Wye Valley Seven Sisters rocks thad DI Frannie Bliss has DC David 'Darth' Vaynor look into. Vaynor is not your normal cop, he has a PhD and is an expert on the poet William Wordsworth and his little known time spent in Hereford, a below the radar 'hippie' with pagan beliefs. Wordsworth meets a girl, thought to be at the village of Goodrich, who communicated with the dead that led to write the poem, We are Seven. Merrily is contacted by former TV actor, now vicar Arlo Ripley, a member of his congregation has reported seeing the ghost of a child, he requests Merrily's help.
This is a wonderfully entertaining and unsettling narrative that features the return of all the characters I have come to love, such as Lol, Gomer Parry, and Sophie. However, I was particularly irritated by Jane, Merrily's daughter, and her unethical habit of covertly listening to confidential conversations, such as the one between Merrily and Vaynor. A favourite series, this is for fans of Rickman and those who enjoy dark, disturbing supernatural stories, and I do recommend the audio.
There is the strange fall to his death of prominent Hereford estate agent and experienced climber, Peter Portis, close to King Arthur's cave, from the Wye Valley Seven Sisters rocks thad DI Frannie Bliss has DC David 'Darth' Vaynor look into. Vaynor is not your normal cop, he has a PhD and is an expert on the poet William Wordsworth and his little known time spent in Hereford, a below the radar 'hippie' with pagan beliefs. Wordsworth meets a girl, thought to be at the village of Goodrich, who communicated with the dead that led to write the poem, We are Seven. Merrily is contacted by former TV actor, now vicar Arlo Ripley, a member of his congregation has reported seeing the ghost of a child, he requests Merrily's help.
This is a wonderfully entertaining and unsettling narrative that features the return of all the characters I have come to love, such as Lol, Gomer Parry, and Sophie. However, I was particularly irritated by Jane, Merrily's daughter, and her unethical habit of covertly listening to confidential conversations, such as the one between Merrily and Vaynor. A favourite series, this is for fans of Rickman and those who enjoy dark, disturbing supernatural stories, and I do recommend the audio.
December 7, 2023
I have been a super-fan of the Phil Rickman’s Merrily Watkins mysteries for many years. I was very excited to read the latest addition to the series, The Fever of the World. When I began reading and found it revolved around William Wordsworth and his poetry, I was doubly excited since I taught that poetry to high schoolers for many years. Sadly, the book just didn’t thrill me—as the others have done. I was about 150 pages into it before I started feeling like I knew what was going on and how things tied together. Even then, I never quite got into the rhythm of the book. Each reading session found me still a bit confused. The storyline finally picked up—for me—and I was eager to finish the novel, but the ending didn’t seem too much like an ending to me. Set against the backdrop of the Covid 19 pandemic, the book doesn’t seem to tie that to the storyline very well. Yes, the pandemic restrictions are there, and characters are worried, but other than that, there is little widespread panic among our favorite characters, most of whom have very little to do in the book. Frannie Bliss takes a backseat to a newer detective “Darth” Vaynor, supposedly because Vaynor is a Wordsworth scholar and figures into the plot. But I couldn’t figure out his involvement until it was spelled out for me. Gomer Parry has very little to do except to transport Merrily’s daughter Jane. And Lol, Merrily’s “secret” lover does almost nothing in the book. A new character, Arlo Ripley, is defined as to his background and current situation, but we are left to wonder as to why and how he manages to get himself into the situation we find him in. In short, for me, the book just doesn’t deliver. I found it a quick but tedious read. That’s just me, and I’m sure thousands of Merrily fans would disagree. In the end, it’s book sales that determine if it’s a “hit” or not. But this was a miss in my opinion.
December 21, 2023
Somehow this was published in 2022 without me noticing so what a wonderful surprise to discover it. It's been a long break between Merrily's as I read the previous one in the series back in 2017, but opening the covers was like walking into the home of an old friend.
This novel is set during Covid times, which makes the title very apt even though it references a line from a Wordsworth's poem. As well as facing the imminent lockdown which means no church services and possibly the accelerated end of the Church of England, Merrily's role as deliverance minister has been marginalised by the new Bishop. Bishop Craig Innes has made it very clear to Merrily that people seeking deliverance help should be referred to mental health services.
When local estate agent, and very experience climber, Peter Portis, is found dead at the bottom of a cliff in the lower Wye Valley that he has climbed many times before it at first appears to be an accident, but strange things start to happen to other people, including Detective David (Darth) Vaynor, which suggest there is an evil force at play.
The Wye Valley is an ancient place, the site of King Arthur's cave, standing stones, and was also a place where Wordsworth spent a lot of time and wrote the poem "We Are Seven" about an eight year old girl who seems to consider her dead brother and sister to still be with her.
Frannie Bliss asks Merrily to help Vaynor explain the very troubling experiences her has had in this place - once years ago in King Arthur's cave, and again just after the death of Peter Portis. Merrily's investigations have to be done on the quiet so the Bishop doesn't catch whiff and this leads her into danger and she is fortunate to be saved by Gomer.
This is another well-plotted and well-told tale by Phil Rickman, and it looks like Merrily and Lol may finally be ready to make their relationship public.
This novel is set during Covid times, which makes the title very apt even though it references a line from a Wordsworth's poem. As well as facing the imminent lockdown which means no church services and possibly the accelerated end of the Church of England, Merrily's role as deliverance minister has been marginalised by the new Bishop. Bishop Craig Innes has made it very clear to Merrily that people seeking deliverance help should be referred to mental health services.
When local estate agent, and very experience climber, Peter Portis, is found dead at the bottom of a cliff in the lower Wye Valley that he has climbed many times before it at first appears to be an accident, but strange things start to happen to other people, including Detective David (Darth) Vaynor, which suggest there is an evil force at play.
The Wye Valley is an ancient place, the site of King Arthur's cave, standing stones, and was also a place where Wordsworth spent a lot of time and wrote the poem "We Are Seven" about an eight year old girl who seems to consider her dead brother and sister to still be with her.
Frannie Bliss asks Merrily to help Vaynor explain the very troubling experiences her has had in this place - once years ago in King Arthur's cave, and again just after the death of Peter Portis. Merrily's investigations have to be done on the quiet so the Bishop doesn't catch whiff and this leads her into danger and she is fortunate to be saved by Gomer.
This is another well-plotted and well-told tale by Phil Rickman, and it looks like Merrily and Lol may finally be ready to make their relationship public.
June 18, 2022
A fantastic success!
The wait for this 16th episode in the life of the world's most endearing Diocesan Exorcist, Merrily Watkins, has been a long one but, nonetheless definitely worth that wait. Phil Rickman, my absolute favourite author for many years, has pulled the rabbit out of the hat once more.
I will not be including spoilers in this review, suffice to say Merrily, her daughter Jane, Lol Robinson, Gomer Parry et al, are all present in the latest mysterious events to occur in the Wye Valley, on the borders between England and Wales. Deaths occur and the links between the past and the present are blurred at times. I had to ration myself as to how much I would allow myself to read at a time...one of those awful decisions between wanting to know the end but not wanting to finish the book. However all good things do come to an end eventually but all is not lost. Whenever Phil Rickman publishes a novel (whether it's a Merrily mystery or something else,) I always pre-order the Kindle edition and the Audible edition. The Merrily novels are all narrated by the wonderful Emma Powell, who has maintained all her magnificent store of voices throughout the series and deserves the Audible version of an Oscar for her work. So whether you read proper books or, like me have had to transfer to e-books or indeed prefer to listen, the choice is yours.
If you are new to Phil Rickman's wonderful world, it's not too late, they're all still in print and you will do yourself a great disservice if you don't try them. I would highly recommend all of them!
The wait for this 16th episode in the life of the world's most endearing Diocesan Exorcist, Merrily Watkins, has been a long one but, nonetheless definitely worth that wait. Phil Rickman, my absolute favourite author for many years, has pulled the rabbit out of the hat once more.
I will not be including spoilers in this review, suffice to say Merrily, her daughter Jane, Lol Robinson, Gomer Parry et al, are all present in the latest mysterious events to occur in the Wye Valley, on the borders between England and Wales. Deaths occur and the links between the past and the present are blurred at times. I had to ration myself as to how much I would allow myself to read at a time...one of those awful decisions between wanting to know the end but not wanting to finish the book. However all good things do come to an end eventually but all is not lost. Whenever Phil Rickman publishes a novel (whether it's a Merrily mystery or something else,) I always pre-order the Kindle edition and the Audible edition. The Merrily novels are all narrated by the wonderful Emma Powell, who has maintained all her magnificent store of voices throughout the series and deserves the Audible version of an Oscar for her work. So whether you read proper books or, like me have had to transfer to e-books or indeed prefer to listen, the choice is yours.
If you are new to Phil Rickman's wonderful world, it's not too late, they're all still in print and you will do yourself a great disservice if you don't try them. I would highly recommend all of them!
April 2, 2024
Book #4- 2024
Title: The Fever Of The World
Series: Merrily Watkins (Book 16 of 16)
Author: Phil Rickman
Pages: 354
Started: 15/03/2024
Finished: 30/03/2024
Days: 16
🌟🌟🌟
I eagerly awaited the release of this novel, book 16 in the Merrily Watkins series but was sadly disappointed upon reading it. I read the first book of this series at least 20 years ago, not realising at the time it was a series, and have read every book once they were released. You could read each book by themselves as each book is its own story, however, you will miss the character and world building and the small references of previous stories. The stories are mystery and crime but with a spiritual and paranormal element. I found myself back in the small town of Ledwardine with all the regular characters; Merrily, Lol, Jane, Gomer, Bliss. It soon became apparent that this story was written during the start of Covid and featured throughout the story, I’m not sure there was too much relevance to it being part of the story. I felt like there was a lot of dilly dallying without the story really moving forward. About three quarters of the way through it finally started picking up and then it was over. The ending felt rushed, the last few chapters literally jumped from one thing to the next. If this was the first book I’d read by Phil Rickman I probably wouldn’t pick up another but alas, I will wait and see if there will be a book 17!
Title: The Fever Of The World
Series: Merrily Watkins (Book 16 of 16)
Author: Phil Rickman
Pages: 354
Started: 15/03/2024
Finished: 30/03/2024
Days: 16
🌟🌟🌟
I eagerly awaited the release of this novel, book 16 in the Merrily Watkins series but was sadly disappointed upon reading it. I read the first book of this series at least 20 years ago, not realising at the time it was a series, and have read every book once they were released. You could read each book by themselves as each book is its own story, however, you will miss the character and world building and the small references of previous stories. The stories are mystery and crime but with a spiritual and paranormal element. I found myself back in the small town of Ledwardine with all the regular characters; Merrily, Lol, Jane, Gomer, Bliss. It soon became apparent that this story was written during the start of Covid and featured throughout the story, I’m not sure there was too much relevance to it being part of the story. I felt like there was a lot of dilly dallying without the story really moving forward. About three quarters of the way through it finally started picking up and then it was over. The ending felt rushed, the last few chapters literally jumped from one thing to the next. If this was the first book I’d read by Phil Rickman I probably wouldn’t pick up another but alas, I will wait and see if there will be a book 17!
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