Customer Reviews

The Smile of a Ghost (Merrily Watkins Mysteries)

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Smile of a Ghost is undoubtedly the best of the Merrily Watkins series--and the best of all Rickman's books. Though there is a slight paranormal flavor, the book works best as a straight mystery, one involving many different people and their actions. Mr. Rickman takes these strands and weaves them together beautifully to the final outcome. The main character, the Rev. Merrily Watkins is still charming but slightly anxious in her role as Diocesan Exorcist, and the scenes involving church politics are spot on. Secondary characters are not relegated to "supporting role" status but are integral to the plot. I started reading on a Thursday afternoon and finished it the next day--it's that kind of book.

In this the seventh of his Merrily Watkins novels, Phil Rickman once again proves that you really can't get too much of a good thing. While The Smile of a Ghost does not find the Rev. Merrily Watkins in such dire or dark supernatural peril she has contended with previously, the demons she must face are just as chilling -- the possible elimination of her very role as Deliverance Minister by modernizing forces in the Church as well as by her own self-doubt. And this crisis couldn't have come at a worse time -- in the midst of a tragic trend of teen suicides, possibly influenced by a 12th century ghost and a very hauntingly real "ghost" of sorts from Merrily's Goth days of the more recent past.

In spite of this novel's thematic seriousness, Rickman manages to weave subtle strands of wit and humor throughout, and his astounding facility with character and dialogue only gets better with each book. Through his superb crafting of narrative perspective, the personalities of Rickman's characters seem to hijack their way from chapter to chapter with an amazing fluidity that makes the book very hard to put down.

If you're a regular reader of Rickman's novels, this newest one will not disappoint. If you're new to the novels of Phil Rickman, you're in for a treat. Either way, The Smile of a Ghost will leave a reader smiling.

The seventh Merrily Watkins book, this one tops the list. Rickman has the skill to present characters who are so real you are sure you know them, a plot so intriguing that you become engrossed in the action, and a way of writing the draws you on through the story. The dilemma is whether to spend time with the characters or turn the page and get on with the story. Here the venue of the mystery is almost a character in itself: what is it about the castle and the town which shapes the story? As always with Rickman one finds oneself on the border between the rational and the non-rational, the quotidian and the mysterious. One finishes with a respect for that which is finally beyond explanation but open to understanding.

There's more than one ghost in historic, medieval Ludlow, and not all of them are dead yet. There's legendary Marion, who jumped to her death from the Hanging Tower at Ludlow Castle, more than 500 years ago, and she's still making personal appearances. There's Robbie Walsh, the 14 year old history buff who falls from the tower as the novel opens, and the reverberations from his death refuse to dissipate. There's Bella Donna, burnt out Goth pop star, who thinks Ludlow is her own personal heaven, and wanders the streets and churchyards singing about Wee Willie Winkie. Finally, there's Lol, almost-famous rock musician who can't quite escape his troubled past.

Into this mix steps the Reverend Merrily Watkins, diocesan exorcist, who's being hounded by some newly appointed consultants who seem to want to shut her down. The mayor of Ludlow believes the castle must be spiritually cleansed, before the weirdness that has recently taken hold in town can be brought under control. But there are just as many hidden agendas among the principle characters as there are among the ghosts.

Smile is an eloquently written ghost story wrapped in a mystery, and the suspense never flags. The final scenes are nothing less than captivating, and the reader is left wanting more Merrily mysteries. First rate fiction.

You don't want to be a lawyer or a psychiatrist in a Phil Rickman novel. If you show up, you'll be treated like dirt because you are dirt. However, it's okay to wander around with an embalmed baby in tow, and treat your live kin as if you wish they were dead. `Eccentric' is usually stretched to `lovable' in the Merrily Watkins mysteries, but I can't quite bring myself to love the crazy lady of this novel.

"The Smile of a Ghost" is very much about relatives and the awful things they do to each other, including driving the more vulnerable ones to suicide. When a fourteen-year-old boy who is mad about medieval history, takes a dive off of Ludlow Castle, people wonder whether it was a suicide, an accident, or murder.

By book's end, we are pretty sure it wasn't an accident or suicide, but are not positive as to the identity of the boy's killer. I personally didn't care for Merrily's suspect. The retired police officer's suspect was an evil twerp, but I was pretty sure he wouldn't work outside of his own turf. The one suspect that did make sense to me was the weird goth-woman's choice of killer, but I refuse to agree with her on anything. You'll have to decide for yourself.

Evidently bomb-makers are not the only type of terrorists working for Great Britain's National Health Services. You'll meet another type in "The Smile of a Ghost" that Lol had the misfortune to fall under the care of while he was incarcerated in a mental institution. When he composes a song about his experience, bad things begin to happen to him and Merrily. However, Lol solves his problem brilliantly and he is one of the real heroes of this complex, multi-layered mystery.

But if Lol can show enough maturity to confront an evil psychiatrist from his past, why can't he and Merrily stop sneaking into each other's bedrooms and just get hitched? It should put a stop to the poison-pen letters once and for all. Does anyone recall a reason why they shouldn't get married? Bishop Bernie could officiate in his purple shirt, and Gomer Parry, the manic digger-for-hire could be the best man. Jane, pagan that she is, could be the maid-of-honor. Let's drop all of this artificial angst and get on with life. Lucy, one of the many ghosts in this novel would certainly smile on the union.

I hesitate to put the moniker "best" on this book because I fully expect that the next book will be just as good, if not better than this one. That is the way this series. It is just so very good! I love the mix of occult, ghost story, real crime and atmosphere that is in each book. The action in this book takes place in the ancient town of Ludlow where history meets present-day in the architecture and in the folk stories that ciruclate. There are many ghosts in Ludlow because of its ancient history, but the ghost that is causing Merrily and Ludlow problems is from the 12 century. She is a young woman who brutally murdered her husband after letting the enemy into the castle keep, and then jumps from the high tower to her death. She walkd the halls of the ancient castle and some of the grounds around it. The plot is complex and detailed. The characters are so real that they seem to breathe off the page. And, in this book, Mr. Rickman exposes the underground current day fascination of young people with death and with some of the teenage suicide sites on the internet. That is how some present-day young people in the book get caught up in the brooding history of Ludlow, and partly explains why there are so many suicide attempts when young people begin falling or jumping, (or are they being pushed from the high towers?) I was spellbound and could not put the book down.

If I had known before I bought the first Merrily Watkins novel (The Wine of Angels) that Merrily is an exorcist, I probably would have saved my money. But I didn't know, and now I'm hooked.

The characters are fabulous - Merrily, the sometimes hapless vicar; Jane, the pagan daughter; Gomer, the archetypal local; Lol, the fragile folk-rock mystery. Any and all of these will fix your attention and concern, to say nothing of a wide array of secondary characters and ghosts. OK, the ghosts sound hard to take, but Rickman carefully constructs Merrily's vocation, making the line between spiritual work and work with spirits very faint indeed. The vicar's faith is remarkably practical and so are most of the problems she faces.

The plots grow out of the settings on the Welsh border, exquisitely detailed in all the books. In Smile of a Ghost, the town of Ludlow becomes another character, in some ways the principal victim. Of all the books, this one has the most subtly integrated element of the supernatural: you can take it or leave it.

If the exorcist plot makes you nervous, start with this book and see if your concerned affection for Merrily, Lol, Jane and others doesn't over-come your hesitation.