Prayer of the Night Shepherd (A Merrily Watkins Mystery) [Paperback]

Phil Rickman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

At Stanner Hall, a Victorian mansion-turned-hotel, Ben Foley hosts murder-mystery weekends and strives to prove that his hotel is the house on which Arthur Conan Doyle based his immortal Baskerville Hall. As the days shorten and the weather worsens, Foley’s dabbling uncovers more than he can handle. For the history of Stanner Hall is linked not only to the Victorian fascination with spiritualism and the legacy of a terrifying medieval exorcism—but with a chain of deaths that is far from fictional.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Phil Rickman, born in Lancashire, writes and presents the book programme Phil the Shelf for BBC Radio Wales and has won awards for his TV and radio journalism. He is married and lives on the Welsh border.

From AudioFile

Phil Rickman profiles Ben Foley, who lives on the Welsh border. Foley is trying to prove that Arthur Conan Doyle got his inspiration for THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES there, rather than on the moors of England. His belief draws all sorts of theorists and eccentrics; mysticism, superstition, and folklore also abound. Narrator Emma Powell masterfully distinguishes each character, her best being Merrily Watkins, exorcist for the Diocese of Hereford, and her endearing young daughter, Jane. The tale is full of fascinating storytellers who touch on spiritualists, child killers, and Sherlockiana, all expertly retold by Powell. This atmospheric gem is perfect for mystery and horror buffs, as well as those who enjoy superior writing and narration. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 630 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan UK (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330490338
• ISBN-13: 978-0330490337
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #692,589 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Altarside Detection, January 23, 2007

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Prayer of the Night Shepherd (A Merrily Watkins Mystery) (Paperback)

This sixth in Rickman's Merrily Watkins series picks up after several of the more dramatic volumes in the series and finds the diocesian exorcist and minister of Ledwardine confronting a thorny problem. Merrily has started having informal evensong services and unexpectedly, one of the attendees is cured of a fatal tumor. Merrily isn't ready to accept this sudden sign of the Lord's blessing at face value, but her congregation does. Now she must deal with her and the church's mixed attitude toward healing. Which, she discovers, many think goes hand in hand with exorcism.

The other piece of good/bad news is that Jane, Merrily's daughter and chief critic, has managed to get a weekend job as waitress and general assistant at a struggling new inn that is trying to use its tenuous connection to Arthur Conan Doyle and the hound of the Baskervilles to build a clientele. All of this on the forbidding border with Wales where, as we are often reminded, long memories and getting even is a way of life. The legends of the area include a number of characters almost as grim as their remaining heirs. Throw in mysterious black dogs and bulls, a fair amount of inherited insanity, séances, and film crews and you have the perfect environment for trouble. As usual, Jane's youthful enthusiasm leads her into the worst of the fray.

Merrily must cope with healing, spiritism, a terminally determined daughter and her blossoming relationship with Lol. Compelled by her nature she is soon in the thick of things, trying to deal with phenomena that are unresponsive to either intellect or faith. The result is a complex story that is part history, part supernatural, and part psychological thriller. Rickman is one of the few writers who seem to be able to bring the supernatural into a mystery story without destroying the overall effect.

For all the darkness of the themes, The Prayer of the Night Shepherd is much lighter in tone than the past few volumes. Not for lack of horrible events but because Jane's self confidence and Lol's gentle wisdom balance Merrily's introspectiveness perfectly. The inner story that develops around them keeps some of the dark insanity around them at bay. I found myself enjoying the break, as well as all the bits of Sherlockiana and bleak border history. For all that this is volume 7, it stands pretty well on its own. I've managed to read this series completely out of order and don't feel I missed anything but an occasional bit of context.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holy hounds, Batman!, October 13, 2005

By 

Linda Pagliuco "katknit" (CT, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Prayer of the Night Shepherd (A Merrily Watkins Mystery) (Paperback)

Phil Rickman is one of my favorite authors. His West Country mysteries, always with a generous sprinkle of English history, Celtic mysticism and superstition, never fail to captivate. Prayer is no exception. The Reverend Merrily Watkins is a winningly human sort of priest, with a neo-pagan daughter and a former rock star boyfriend. Supporting characters are equally well-drawn. While Rickman's plot this time round is quite complex, he moves it along at a fast pace, dropping clues to the reader if the reader's sharp enough to catch them. The surprises don't end till the very last page. If you think evil is an abstract concept, read one of Rickman's books.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Seductive, Haunting Christmas Murder Mystery, December 22, 2009

By 

K. Curran - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Prayer of the Night Shepherd (A Merrily Watkins Mystery) (Paperback)

Anyone who has never read the haunting, facinating, imaginative and meticulously researched novels of British West Country author Phil Rickman is in for an enormous treat.
Set in a decrepit but captivating old hotel with a dark history on the Welsh/English border, and taking place over the Christmas holiday season of snow and ice and wuthering winds, the story deals with modern murder and ancient devilry, from a mysterious, beautiful woman with a violent past living under an alias, to a machiavellian medaeval lord who haunts a local, historic church alternately in the form of a bull or a smouldering black hellhound, to a sexually predatory Victorian dominatrix with a passion for fox hunting and youthful male conquests, and a documentary film maker with a group of scholars who are convinced that Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic Hound of the Baskervilles was conceived not in Devon, but in this part of the world, all make up a twisting, anxiety-producing tale full of suspense and surprises that leaves the reader with as many provocative querries as answers--and makes you want more of Rickman's riveting yarns, and with his enduring Merrily Watkins series, as well as his other, uniquely connected novels, you won't be disappointed!