Customer Reviews

Crown of Lights

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I believe that it was Lord Peter Wimsey who once made a habit of collecting vicars, one of the more idiosyncratic of British countryside characters. Be that as it may, I'm sure the venerable master detective never anticipated a vicar quite like Merrily Watkins, determined minister, caring mother, and deliverance consultant (exorcist) in the service of the Anglican Church on the Welsh border. Spiritual and personal crises have lead Merrily to this point in her life, and her investigations of not-so-normal events and challenges have made her the principal focus of Phil Rickman's mystery stories.

When events give a pair of Pagan witches control of the site of a ruined church, Merrily senses trouble. Not from the pagans, but from Nick Ellis, a priest from the more evangelical side of the Anglican Church. Lately come from America, Ellis has set himself up in Radnor valley, where his style seems to suit the natives. He is outraged by the presence of the couple and sets about declaiming and defaming in an effort to oust something he considers a tool of the devil.

Called in to mediate what appears to be a dangerous situation, Merrily discovers that the danger lies in more directions than expected. A death, a mysterious disappearance, and a host of dark rituals in unexpected places lead Merrily to realize that something wicked does indeed haunt the valley and that the pagans, Robin and Betty, are only come lately to a dark tale of greed and superstition.

Rickman, who started writing horror stories, has really found his métier writing what are really detective stories with a supernatural bent. He has created a set of likable characters - Merrily herself, 16-year-old daughter Jane, Jane's boyfriend Eirion, and the omnipresent Gomer, his wife lately passed away, happy to be helping Merrily in a tangled web of intrigue and murder. Other volumes introduce even more characters, and the village of Ledwardine and its surrounding parishes spring alive with both charm and tension.

One of Rickman's talents is his ability to build a long and detailed story arc from several angles. This keeps the action fresh. Be warned though that Rickman starts the windup to his endings early and can build the denouement steadily for over 100 pages of the book. He never loses that action though, and these long books are usually quick entertaining reads. While this isn't the first in the series, it plays well on its own, so by all means consider it a possible starting point.

Phil Rickman is known for writing intelligent, literate stories of horror and the supernatural. This book is no exception.

In this Reverend Merrily Watkins mystery, elements of the supernatural combine with plain old human wickedness. Rickman's books are long, but for the reader who appreciates an intelligent and well-written novel, they are worth the effort. I ordered my copy from Amazon.com.uk -- US readers are lucky to now have _A Crown of Lights_ available stateside.

Recommended. Also, treat yourself to his back list - Rickman writes some of the finest and most original work in this genre. In addition to the Merrily Watkins mysteries, Curfew, December, and Man in the Moss are highly recommended.

Merrily Watkins is fast becoming the unassuming thinking person's sleuth. By her own admission, imperfect yet all the more realistic for it, she slides around the inevitable fanaticism that permeates A Crown of Lights and with almost Poirot-esque subtlet teases out the facts and nudges the forces of good and evil back into balance.
The latest Rickman offering doesn't disappoint. He serves up a tingling read of an abandoned church that is portrayed as a vital reclaim to pagan religions. Robin and Betty Thorogood are the unsuspecting new owners of the abandoned church in Old Hindwell that holds its own dark history. Coupled with the sinister interweavings of the Local People and a bitter blood feud between two brothers, Merrily clashes with the fanatical Father Ellis and the antagonistic Ned Bain as each struggle to assert their religious dominance over the sleeping dragon that is warded by five churches. Excellent supporting roles from Merrily's daughter Jane, 'Irene' and Gomer Parry lend to a tale of immensely thrilling supernatural forces and the author has produced another stunning story. A must-read

He is relatively new to the American mass market, and I was thrilled to discover Phil Rickman late last year. He has brought a fresh approach to the British mystery tradition. Central character Merrily Watkins is a modern woman, Anglican priest, and single mother. Rickman has created a real person, one to whom it is easy to relate. Merrily struggles with many of the issues that plague Western society. Spiritual uncertainty, the problems of divorce, working motherhood, sexism, and social injustice all color her decisions and actions. How to be a good (female) priest. How to be a good mom. How to find a life partner. What is love? What is evil? Who is evil? Is demonic possession a reality? Is exorcism a valid response to it? Rickman knows well his psychology, religion, folklore, and history. He can be relied upon to create a literate, compelling story with believable characters and relevance for today.

After the shattering conclusion of Midwinter Of The Spirit, Merrily finds the new Bishop of Herefordshire easy to work with. Though she misses her pal Lol Robinson who is taking a psychotherapy course on the other side of the country, she and Jane are settling back into a low key life in Ledwardine.

A half hour from Ledwardine, close to the Welsh border, a Wiccan couple has purchased a rundown house with decommissioned church attached, having been led there by a series of coincidences. Or were they? Their plans for the church spark resistance from a fundamentalist group of Christians headed by a charismatic loose cannon, and Merrily is sent to 'assist'. It seems as though the entire village is caught up in religious fervor, bolstered by some righteously respectable pillars of society. Are they sincere, or is something sinister going on?

Murder, haunting and unholy rituals ensue and Merrily is soon caught up in a battle of good v. evil with a little media hysteria for good measure. As in all Rickman's books, widely divergent storylines converge at the end, and the last hundred pages are (pardon the expression) spellbinding. Merrily and Jane never cease to delight and Jane has a new boyfriend who soon proves his worth and mettle. The internet plays a large part in this book, and even though this book was published ten years ago, Rickman accurately posits the negative implications of the information super highway.

A Crown Of Lights is inexplicably difficult (and expensive) to find on this side of the Pond. It's worth it, though. The series needs to be read in order to follow Merrily's progress in finding her footing in the Deliverance branch of the C of E as well as the delightful Jane's perilous journey to adulthood.

Emma Powell IS the voice of the Merrily Watkins books. And I'm happy to say that except for a couple of inconsistent pronunciations, she delivers the goods with Crown of Lights. She does not just vocally distinguish between the ages and social strata of people, but also their locations. I'm not great with UK accents and she may be getting the various local accents all wrong, but they sound right to me.

Merrily is at the hospital with a friend when she is asked to off spiritual comfort to a man whose wife has just died. This man, a solicitor, rejects Merrily's offer of solace. Then later Merrily is approached by a sister of the dead woman who feels that there is something wrong about the way the man is behaving about his wife's death. She further feels that her sister is haunting her. This would come under Merrily's brief as a Deliverance minister so she agrees to meet the woman at her sister's funeral.

Meanwhile a decommissioned church has been bought by a couple of young pagans and there are problems brewing between a local rector who has brought back from the United States a fundamentalist view of religion and the young pagans.

This is a very good entry into this series. Rickman keeps the tensions high as he spins a tale of the struggle between the spiritual values espoused by the Anglican church, the Christians on the fringe and neopagans. Meanwhile Merrily finds herself investigating a disappearance as well as other troubling events in the village.

I listened to this until I fell asleep then picked it up the next day and listened nearly straight to the end.

I enjoyed this installment of the Merrily Watkins mysteries, though I don't think it's the best. I am moving forward with the next book, but wish they were on Kindle!

Phil Rickman's books about the Reverend Merrily Watkins are impossible to categorize and to place in a specific genre. They are so unique that they should have their own genre. His writing is mesmerizing, and the books almost impossible to put down once begun. Each book in the series is a perfect gem - a wonderful mystery, great characters, more than a taste of the supernatural, and gripping plots. This book puts Merrily and her daughter Jane in the middle of a maestrom that is fueled by an evangelist priest and a powerful wiccan. It all takes place in a tiny little village right on the Welsh border where secrets have been kept for so long, they actually become part of the atmosphere. The book held me enthralled right until the very end. I can't say enough about this wonderful and provocative series.

If you enjoy a good, old fashioned ghost story, Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins series is right up your alley. Merrily, an extremely loveable and believable character, is the vicar of a church on the Welsh border. She's also the head of the "Deliverance" ministry (exorcisms for those not in the CofE). The settings and tales are classic and gothic, yet the entire series maintains a very modern feeling. Dealing with turn of the century and older hauntings and curses while simultaneously handling the political intrigue of the church and a wise cracking teenage daughter who sees herself as more spiritual than religious keep Merrily busy and very much ground these books in the present. All of this is backed up by a firm footing in the mystery genre. Rickman is big in the UK, but just starting to get a foothold in the states as people discover these gems. These books defy classification, but once you read them you will be hooked. This book, in particular, really takes the series up a notch and bodes nothing but a wonderful future for the series.

This is the first book I have read by Phil Rickman. I shop for books based on customer reviews and he really should have a larger following. This book weaves the eerie legends of old into modern day perfectly. Every Character became real. While reading this book when I went to put it down it took me a little bit to realize I was still in my own home...because Rickman takes you there. I have since bought two more of his books and look forward to all of them based on his writing ability.