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review 2020-04-22 02:44
The Remains of an Altar by Phil Rickman
The Remains of an Altar (Merrily Watkins Mysteries Book 8) - Phil Rickman

Merrily Watkins # 8

 

Another installment in the Merrily Watkins series. It was fine, with lots of Jane shenanigans but I kept losing track of who some of the characters were when they were mentioned later. Not sure if that's on the book or my own focus due to the current situation. At least we found out who was actually responsible for the murders this time.

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review 2020-01-20 23:25
The Remains of an Altar (Merrily Watkins Mysteries Book 8) - Phil Rickman

Not the best of the series. There is something a bit off, maybe because Lol and Gomer aren't as present. But Rickman does tap into the fear of development and tourism as well as how ghost stories are seen by different people in the same area. That's what makes it a good read. And it's always nice to spend time with Merrily who is one of the best written characters in the world.

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review 2019-10-03 18:00
Grave or Graveyard Square
The Man in the Moss - Phil Rickman

This is not a Watkins book, though it does feature a supporting character who eventually appears in the book.  

 

The plot in the story at first seems like two plots - one the discover of a bog man who is unburied, and the other is the far out of a musician's death.  

 

The book makes great use of old belief and tradition, as well as the idea of co-opting such for one's own history.  While I didn't like it as much as some of the Watkins, as always Rickman writes excellent women.

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review 2019-06-24 18:22
#7 in the Watkins Series
The Smile of a Ghost (Merrily Watkins Mysteries Book 7) - Phil Rickman
This is my favorite Merrily Watkins to date. It’s set in the Border country between Wales and England, it features an English castle with Tudor connections (Ludlow), and there is folklore, in particularly that of the ghostly kind.

Merrily and Jane start the book happy. Lol is moving in across the way, and while Jane will be going to uni or leaving home soon, things are pretty ho-hum. That is until there is a death in Ludlow and that is followed by another one. But they could be suicide, except Merrily knows the man who is a relative to two of the victims. Of course, she gets involved. But there is also the question of the Deliverance Office and how certain segments of the church want to shut it down. Then Lol starts to have problems because, well, some people aren’t happy about an ex-mental patient having a relationship with the vicar. He’s also nervous about an up-coming concert.
So, like most Watkins books there is a slew of things going on and part of the wonderment is seeing how they might, just might fit together.

I’ll admit that I was little lukewarm about the series when I started reading, but it has grown on me. There are several reasons for this. The first is that Rickman writes good women. His women are totally believable. They are not always talking about men. It’s true that Jane might be a little advanced for her age and that her relationship with her mother perhaps borders too close on friends, but reasons for this are given in the series. It isn’t just Jane and Merrily’s relationship that is wonderful, but it is also Sophie and Merrily’s, and Sophie’s and Jane’s. The women in the book don’t get upset or jealous simply because another woman is better looking or if their husband spends time with a woman. Their concerns are far greater than simply relationships.

There is also Rickman’s treatment of mental illness. Lol and a few other characters are either recovering from or in the midst of mental illness. The reasons for such illness vary. The important thing is that those that stigmatize mental illness are shown to be wrong. Jane thinks that Lol is damaged and sensitive and must be wrapped in cotton wool, and this is somewhat how she thinks about her mother. Yet, Rickman illustrates that mentally ill does not mean damaged. Both Lol and Merrily aren’t as damaged or as weak as Jane or they themselves might think. The development of Lol over the course of the series has been wonderful. Furthermore, in this volume, also illustrates the cost of mental illness on those who are family.

Lastly, there is Rickman’s use of belief. Jane and Merrily believe different things, but there is a respect for letting someone believe in what they wish. This is true of most of the characters. And whether or not there really was a ghost and to certain degree the mystery itself are left, if not unanswered, then to the reader’s choice. Rickman does not judge.
 
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review 2019-06-12 15:26
Sherlock Holmes connection
The Prayer of the Night Shepherd - Phil Rickman
The back of my copy of this book as a quote that says Rickman writes very good dialogue, and this is absolutely spot on.

This entry into the Merrily Watkins series finds Jane working at a hotel that draws people with a connection to Conan Doyle that may or may not be factual. The connection sis the source, or potential source, of the Hound of the Baskervilles. The hotel is struggling, and the owner, Ben, is determined to make it succeed by using his BBC connections. Doyle the mystery writer and Doyle the spiritualist both play a role in this novel.

Ben's wife, Amber, isn’t too happy about any of it. But she can cook.

While Jane is busy earning some money and making her boyfriend jealous by working with a camera, Merrily finds herself caught up in a family drama involving an accident and a death of a young boy.

And then there is the question of Lol and the sorting of his relationship with Watkins.

The dialogue in the book is so organic and works so well. Everyone speaks a certain way, and while Merrily and Jane are the center, Gomer and Lol get center stage in some chapters.

What makes the Watkins so good is how well Rickman writes women from the central characters done to the minor supporting cast. And the women usually don’t hate each other and always seen to be more than stereotypes. In this book, in particular, Rickman does an excellent job with the character of Brigid.

The other strong point is the use of belief and the otherworld. Rickman keeps it somewhat open ended, allowing a more mundane mystery to be separate from the spiritual mystery (which may or may not be spiritual depending on your view).
 
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