The Cure of Souls by Phil Rickman
As high summer bakes the rich earth of north-east Herefordshire, dark shadows gather - quite literally - round a converted hopkiln where the last owner was savagely murdered. Though the local vicar dismisses claims by its current occupants that the place is haunted, their story is soon splashed over a Sunday newspaper - and Merrily Watkins is directed by the Bishop of Hereford to defuse this situation. Merrily, however, is already contending with a woman's claim that her adopted teenage daughter is possessed by an evil spirit. In both cases Merrily remains unconvinced but, in this summer of oppressive heat and sudden storms, nothing is ever quite what it seems. As she is drawn into a tangle of trickery, deceit, corruption and sexual menace, her hastily conducted exorcism produces unhappy results. With her career now on the line, she and her good friend Lol Robinson try desperately to uncover the secrets of Knight's From - a village concealing a past as twisted as the bines on the hop-plants once surrounding it. There they discover how local history became entwined with the legacy and superstitions of the Romani gypsies who once harvested the hops. And it seems the Rom had long memories -- on both sides of the grave.
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.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780330487566 |
| ISBN 10 | 0330487566 |
| Title | The Cure of Souls |
| Author | Phil Rickman |
| Series | Merrily Watkins Ser |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Pan Macmillan |
| Year published | 2002-11-08 |
| Number of pages | 576 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |