The Cure of Souls

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 show more 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. show less

The Church of England is finally allowing a more public forum concerning exorcisms, calling the newly-founded group Deliverance Ministry. Lucky for the Reverend Merrily Watkins that her previous experiences with exorcisms make her the best choice to lead this new division. Her first order of business comes in the form of a deeply devout mother who fears that her daughter may be possessed by an evil spirit and learning that her own daughter Jane may have played some part in the girl's presumed "possession". While trying to delve deeper into that case, Merrily is reluctantly pulled into another, more dire case involving a terrible historic murder in a recently converted hop-kiln near Herefordshire. Unluckily for Merrily, she finds herself show more drawn into the locale's corrupt past, dealing with shady politicos and a menacing and potentially deadly presence.

"The Cure of Souls" mixes the mystery story with a good supernatural thriller, combining them to create an entertaining novel filled with unexpected plot twists and a surprising amount of political intrigue. Most of the politics deal with the questionable dealings of the powerful Allan Henry and his conflict with David Shelbone who heads a historical society trying to preserve a property known as Barnchurch, but some of it touches on the politics within the church and how they handle situations involving the Deliverance Ministry. Having the supernatural, or potential of the supernatural, ever-present in the background adds to the tenseness of the story.

Author Phil Rickman also creates a lush and rick background for the story, from the tales of the Lady of the Bines and her horrific death to a history of hop farming and how that brought the Romany (Gypsies) to the country. All those elements play into the events of the story, making it feel more grounded and believable.

Rickman is a master of horror, and this is no exception. You're never quite sure what's supposed to be real and what's ghostly, and that adds to the enchantment of the story. I say "enchantment" because, even at close to 600 pages, I was caught up in the story and finished it in about a day and a half.

Fans of both mysteries and of ghostly/supernatural tales will enjoy this one. show less

Reading a Phil Rickman, Rev'd Merrily Watkins story is pure bliss! His books are like nothing else out there. There is mystery, intrigue, love, hate and a generous mixture of the occult and the unexplainable. The books are chilling in their realness. In this one Merrily gets herself in the middle of a particularly bad spot. She's trying to deal with possession in a young teenage girl and with a particularly malevolent spirit in an old hop kiln that is converted to a house. It means that she must delve back in time to figure out how these two incidences are connected, and to determine what it is she is actually dealing with here. She is joined by her guitar-playing friend Lol Robinson, and her daughter Jane who is also working on it from show more her own angle. Plus we get a lot of wonderful information about the growing and harvesting of hops and a wonderful look inside the Romany lifestyle. The village of Knight's Frome is harbouring many, many twisted secrets, and it becomes supremely personal with Merrily to put a stop to the strange goings on in this sleepy little community. I cannot stress enough how much I enjoy these books. They are like nothing else! show less

Merrily Watkins is the deliverance minister for the Diocese of Hereford, i.e., an exorcist. She suffers in this outing two failures that cause her to question her adequacy for her vocation. One involves a good girl who develops an antipathy to her adoptive parents’ religion after trying to contact her dead mother on a Ouija board. The other involves her going to hop country along the Frome River, where she tries to help a local cottager whose local priest refused to help him. Such is the dry bones of the cases. The fleshy details involve hop country classism and racism, Gypsies, a sleazy real estate developer, his powerful girl-woman stepdaughter, and rock music.

I have read many Phil Rickman books by now and may have some trouble show more remembering this one, which despite being entertaining, and suspenseful, lacks a certain uumph. I know that one problem is that, after reading five of her adventures, I still don’t have a strong grip on Merrily as a character. I can’t even visualize her. I find her bland and uninteresting even in this tale, where she is put through the ringer. show less

I've read and enjoyed the three previous books in the Merrily Watkins paranormal series. Merrily, a deliverance minister, and her daughter Jane are wonderful, fully formed characters who jump right off the page. Plus Phil Rickman just picks you up and takes you to Herefordshire. I agree with another reviewer who said they had a hard time remembering this one. Me, too--and I just finished listening to it! Can't put my finger on it. The story is set around the Herefordshire hop industry and the gypsy community, entwined with a theme of spiritual possession. Never mind that this book didn't do it for me, I'll go on to read #5!

I do like these books, particularly as Merrily is not presented in a sensationalist way, despite being an exorcist, and is a character who preserves her strong faith whilst being open, sensitive and questioning - if my local vicar was like this..... And she has faults. Also Rickman presents the ups and downs and of her relationship with Jane in a realistic but compassionate manner. Oh yes and Lol is back - and I'm back listening to Nick Drake.

Following the recent publication of the eleventh book in the series I've decided to reread the series.

This is another superb offering in the series. Merrily is called in by the mother of a school girl to exorcise her daughter, who she feels may be possessed – Merrily is disturbed when she show more discovers that Jane may have been involved in the events leading up to the ‘possession’. Jane is on holiday with Eirion and his family, and discovering that his stepmother invited her along to babysit the younger children

Meanwhile, Lol, having decided not to continue with his psychotherapy course, is staying with an old music producer friend, Prof Levin, helping him build a studio in his new home in Knight’s Frome. After a strange encounter in a field it soon becomes apparent that something is up in the village, and it's not just down to local power politics. Eventually Merrily is called in to bless a local home in a converted hop kiln, which was the site of a recent brutal murder, and which may be haunted. Tragedy ensues and Merrily, Lol and Jane become entangled in a terrifying series of event which merge local and church politics with the supernatural.

Superb. show less

Not up to the standard of the series. The Gipsy thread tends to trivialize rather than heighten the drama here. Rickman had blended Celtic & Gipsy mystticism far better in December. Here both are diluted.