***SIGNED COLLECTORS' EDITION*** INTRODUCING MERRILY Merrily Watkins, parish priest, single mother, exorcist, works for the Diocese of Hereford in a remote village on the border of England and Wales. Like many men and women doing an essentially medieval job in an increasingly secular society, she's never certain how much she can permit herself to believe. It doesn't help that she sometimes has to work with psychiatrists and the police. Or that her employer, the Church of England, is far from free of prejudice, sexism, greed and corruption. Or that Merrily's teenage daughter is more interested in paganism than the priesthood. No wonder she smokes. No wonder she occasionally lapses into language hard to find in the Bible. THE SECRETS OF PAIN The elite warriors of the Hereford-based SAS know all about pain and the enduring of it. Syd Spicer, ex-SAS trooper, has found himself back the Regiment - this time as its chaplain, responsible for the spiritual welfare of the hardest men in or out of uniform. Faced with a case which would normally be passed discreetly to Hereford diocesan exorcist Merrily Watkins, Spicer is forced, for security reasons, to try and handle it himself...and is coming close to a breakdown. Meanwhile, the scattered communities along the Welsh border have their own crisis. With recession biting deep, urban crime has spilled into the countryside and old barbaric evils are revived. When a wealthy landowner is hacked to death in his own farmyard, the senior investigating officer, DI Frannie Bliss is caught in the backlash, his private life in danger of exposure. With the framework of her own world beginning to crack, Merrily Watkins is persuaded to venture into areas where neither a priest nor a woman is welcome...to unearth secrets linked with the border's pagan past. Secrets which she knows can never be disclosed.
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"Rickman once again cleverly blends supernatural elements with a conventional whodunit plot. . . . The writing and characterizations are first-rate." --"Publishers Weekly" on "The Fabric of Sin"
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
About the Author
Phil Rickman lives on the Welsh border where he writes and presents the book programme Phil the Shelf on BBC Radio Wales. He is the hugely popular author of The Bones of Avalon and the Merrily Watkins Mysteries.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've been a fan of Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins novels for some time now, and I've come to love the characters and the setting. Beautiful black and white Ledwardine, constantly under threat from the outside world of property developers and identical shopping estates and money-grubbing capitalists, just surviving by the skin of its teeth. Merrily herself, holding on to her faith in much the same way. Lol, Jane, Gomer, Frannie Bliss. All just managing to survive in the maelstrom of life.
This book holds no comfort. Without giving away plot, at the end of it none of the above has changed for the better, and several of these characters whom I've come to know as friends have been put through the mill good and proper. And yet it's a satisfying read, as one would expect from Rickman, and there is a kind of exaltation in the ending. Rickman is especially good at moments that make you want to punch the air and shout "YES!" And I found a special treat here in a nice long discussion between Merrily and the gleefully amoral magician Athena White, who remains a joy to read, especially to read aloud. (I read these books to my wife who is partially sighted.)
And there is meat here as well. There's a sock in the eye for those modern comparative religionists who like to make out, based on a few superficial resemblances in the central story, that the cult of Mithras and Christianity are fundamentally identical. There's a sideswipe at the current fad for blokishness, idolising organisations such as the SAS (who certainly deserve admiration, but are hardly to be envied or emulated) and "finding your inner warrior," and there's a television presenter on a programme about cars who I'm sure is not based on any real person living or dead, but ought to be. From the depths of the past rises the unclean shadow of Denzil Joy once again. And there's Jane, charging in where angels fear to tread in her own inimitable way.
You won't be disappointed in The Secrets Of Pain. You might find yourself wishing that the next Merrily book could be a nice safe British Cosy whodunnit, a rest for these characters who have gone through so much...but it wouldn't be Phil Rickman if it were. So, pry your hands off the chair arms and put some gaffa tape over the fingernail marks, and read it again.
This book holds no comfort. Without giving away plot, at the end of it none of the above has changed for the better, and several of these characters whom I've come to know as friends have been put through the mill good and proper. And yet it's a satisfying read, as one would expect from Rickman, and there is a kind of exaltation in the ending. Rickman is especially good at moments that make you want to punch the air and shout "YES!" And I found a special treat here in a nice long discussion between Merrily and the gleefully amoral magician Athena White, who remains a joy to read, especially to read aloud. (I read these books to my wife who is partially sighted.)
And there is meat here as well. There's a sock in the eye for those modern comparative religionists who like to make out, based on a few superficial resemblances in the central story, that the cult of Mithras and Christianity are fundamentally identical. There's a sideswipe at the current fad for blokishness, idolising organisations such as the SAS (who certainly deserve admiration, but are hardly to be envied or emulated) and "finding your inner warrior," and there's a television presenter on a programme about cars who I'm sure is not based on any real person living or dead, but ought to be. From the depths of the past rises the unclean shadow of Denzil Joy once again. And there's Jane, charging in where angels fear to tread in her own inimitable way.
You won't be disappointed in The Secrets Of Pain. You might find yourself wishing that the next Merrily book could be a nice safe British Cosy whodunnit, a rest for these characters who have gone through so much...but it wouldn't be Phil Rickman if it were. So, pry your hands off the chair arms and put some gaffa tape over the fingernail marks, and read it again.
45 of 47 people found the following review helpful
By A. Watson
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a brilliant return to Ledwardine, the postcard pretty English village where darkness lurks behind lace curtains and the taint of old murder has soaked into the timbers of the black and white buildings. Phil Rickman knows where the beating heart of rural malevolence is to be found and he infuses his pages with liberal doses from this wellspring of brooding ichor.
The first half of the book mostly plays like the pastoral guitar picking of a Nick Drake song. It gives us breathing space to wander around an old familiar stamping ground and get re-acquainted with characters we've come to look upon as friends. This is part of the magic of these novels. It's like coming home after a long holiday. Of course it wouldn't be a Rickman book if this period of grace wasn't interspersed with a rising body count and glazed with a thin skein of supernatural disturbance.
Somewhere around the midway point it's like Gomer has fitted afterburners to his JCB. The plot switches into overdrive mode and all you can do is hang on to your hat until it smacks into the buffers at the end of the track with a shriek of grinding metal. So take my advice and prepare yourself for a bad case of whiplash. I had to wear a surgical collar for three days after reading this book.
This ranks up there as one the best Merrily books I've read. It's full of suspense, sly wit, compelling prose, and has a plot that revolves around the mystical undercurrents that secretly exist within the military brotherhood of the SAS.
And as an additional extra - it's big and heavy enough to kill your feuding next door neighbour with if you throw it from an upstairs window. What more can you want from a Phil Rickman novel?
The first half of the book mostly plays like the pastoral guitar picking of a Nick Drake song. It gives us breathing space to wander around an old familiar stamping ground and get re-acquainted with characters we've come to look upon as friends. This is part of the magic of these novels. It's like coming home after a long holiday. Of course it wouldn't be a Rickman book if this period of grace wasn't interspersed with a rising body count and glazed with a thin skein of supernatural disturbance.
Somewhere around the midway point it's like Gomer has fitted afterburners to his JCB. The plot switches into overdrive mode and all you can do is hang on to your hat until it smacks into the buffers at the end of the track with a shriek of grinding metal. So take my advice and prepare yourself for a bad case of whiplash. I had to wear a surgical collar for three days after reading this book.
This ranks up there as one the best Merrily books I've read. It's full of suspense, sly wit, compelling prose, and has a plot that revolves around the mystical undercurrents that secretly exist within the military brotherhood of the SAS.
And as an additional extra - it's big and heavy enough to kill your feuding next door neighbour with if you throw it from an upstairs window. What more can you want from a Phil Rickman novel?
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Kevin Bowman
Format:Hardcover
Reading a new book from Phil Rickman is like opening presents on Christmas Day. It's anticipated all year and never disappoints. The Secrets of Pain is the latest in the Merrily Watkins series which follows Merrily, Jane, Lol and of course Gomer Parry through harrowing experiences bordering on the supernatural. In The Secrets of Pain, Merrily is faced with the death of a fellow vicar, Syd Spicer, which the authorities claim was natural causes. Soon Merrily learns that there is much, much more to the story than the death of a colleague. Meanwhile Jane, Merrily's now 18 year old daughter, is involved with exposing illegal hunt clubs that leads her into a very dark and dangerous realm. The seemingly disconnected events all come together in the climax with twists and turns of events and logic that in the end make perfect sense. The most exceptional aspect of all of Phil's books are the characters. You feel the vulnerabilities of Merrily, the insecurities of Lol, the "In Your Face-ness" of Jane and the dedication and loyalty of Gomer. The characters are so believable that I can't image that they don't really exist.
In addition to the wonderful characters is Phil's description of the Welsh borderlands. The sleepy villages that have an undercurrent of suspicion of anybody from "Off." The ancient sacred sites, the old cathedrals and churches, standing stones and ley lines that lend an air of the supernatural to the plots. Warning: Once you start reading a Merrily Watkins book, be prepared to be hooked.
In addition to the wonderful characters is Phil's description of the Welsh borderlands. The sleepy villages that have an undercurrent of suspicion of anybody from "Off." The ancient sacred sites, the old cathedrals and churches, standing stones and ley lines that lend an air of the supernatural to the plots. Warning: Once you start reading a Merrily Watkins book, be prepared to be hooked.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
brillant
Another great read by Phil Rickman, I always find the historical facts fascinating, cant wait for the next Merrily Watkins.
Published 23 days ago by Carolyn I. Laidlaw
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great Merrily Watkins Mystery
I really love this series, the characters develop nicely from one book to the next and the plots are interesting.
Published 1 month ago by Fran
5.0 out of 5 stars
No pain, no gain
The 11th book in this hypnotic series, and it is at least as good as all the rest. This one starts with the death of a local farmer and is followed by the death of one of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Joe Fitzsimmons
5.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't want it to end!
Amazing read, one of those few books that I couldn't put down but didnt want to end. Some of the more peripheral characters really came in to their own. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Daisybubble
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Serial Writer Who Gets Better and Better
I've blogged before about Phil Rickman - I find in his writing a strong balance of plot, character and setting. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Gerard Kelly
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well researched plot - felt the author went to some trouble before...
This is the first book I have read by this author and enjoyed it immensely. Well written characters, well researched plot, good twists. Read more
Published 4 months ago by BooBoo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
A superb book, as are all the Merrily novels. I grew up in the area around Kington and all the Merrily books bring back so many memories of the area. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lynn Jennings
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read, if a little depressing
This was a sort of depressing book. It was about the semi-religious "goings on" near the SAS camp in Herefordshire. Read more
Published 4 months ago by J. Bowen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fast paced, wonderful characters, my favorite of the series!
Phil Rickman does an incredible job of weaving a story that follows multiple people and events at a fast pace that keeps you turning the pages eager to find out what will happen... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Katie Muller
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good reads
I have read all the the Merrily Watkins books and enjoyed them, however I beginging to think there is too much of Jane.
Published 5 months ago by Robbie Robinson
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