The Parish Priest must solve the mystery of a young boy's deathly fall from the Ludlow Castle ruins, and discovers a hidden obsession with the afterlife amongst the ancient streets…
'Compassionate, original and sharply contemporary. Rickman's crime series is one of the best around.' – Spectator
In the affluent, historic town of Ludlow, a teenage boy dies in a fall from the castle ruins. Accident or suicide? No great mystery – so why does the boy's uncle, retired detective Andy Mumford, turn to Diocesan Exorcist Merrily Watkins?
More people will die before Merrily – her own future uncertain – uncovers a dangerous obsession with suicide, death and the afterlife hidden within these shadowed medieval streets.
About the author
PHIL RICKMAN lives on the Welsh border where he writes and presents the book programme Phil the Shelf on BBC Radio Wales. He is the hugely popular author of The Bones of Avalon, The Heresy of Dr Dee and the Merrily Watkins Mysteries.