gogmagog | Bookrec!

So there's this series, by the British author Phil Rickman, that

enkiae has been pimping to me for forever and a day. I've looked for 'em a few times but never seen them for sale at any of the stores I've checked at.

Cut to last week, when I was out buying books at the local indie bookstore, Prairie Lights, with

lordtravis. While he was back in the textbook section, I was browsing the mystery section, and lo and behold they had three books by Rickman! Kind of excited to discover someplace that actually had his books, I picked up the one that sounded the most interesting from the back cover (since I couldn't tell their order from the backs).

Lo and behold, Enkidu was right, and I really enjoyed it! And I would recommend it to anyone who likes well-written and atmospherically creepy English mysteries tinged with a bit of the occult/paranormal.

The series centers around Merrily Watkins, a Church of England vicar in the town of Ledwardine. Early in the series she also becomes a Diocesan Exorcist (or, as the official title becomes in PC form, "Deliverance Specialist"). Other major characters include her ex-rocker boyfriend Lol Robinson (lol, his name's Lol) and her neopagan daughter Jane. (I guess Jane's boyfriend ~~Irene~~ Eirion plays a larger role in some of the other books, he was kind of a nonentity in this one.)

Anyway, the specific book that I read was The Smile of a Ghost (which is I think the fifth book or so?). It begins with the death of a young, history-obsessed boy (who's very likable, even though he's entirely backstory) when he falls from a tower of Ludlow Castle. His uncle, Andy Mumford, is a friend of Merrily's and calls her in. Throw in a crazy Victorian-dressing lady who turns out to be a former goth music icon (and has disturbing habits like sexing people up in the cemetery and dropping tampons down the sides of 15th-century misericords), some poison-pen letters about Merrily's relationship with Lol, and some church staff trying to bring Merrily's exorcism ministry down with politics, and it makes for a quite entertaining mix. It does a lot with history, too, and I was pleased to see that all the history I knew anything about was right on. :D

So, in short, I would definitely rec it to anyone who likes mysteries! But if you like occult/paranormal-type stories, or English history, it might be even more up your alley (as it is up mine). :D