The Master House, close to the Welsh border, is medieval and slowly falling into ruins. Now the house and its surrounding land have been sold to the Duchy of Cornwall. But the Duchy's plans to renovate the house and its outbuildings are frustrated when the specialist builder refuses to work there. 'This is a place,' he tells the Prince's land-steward, 'that doesn't want to be restored.'Directed by the Bishop of Hereford to investigate, deliverance consultant Merrily Watkins discove...

Merrily Watkins is the most singular of crime fiction protagonists... As ever [Rickman]'s supremely skillful at teasing out the menace that lies behind English folk customs and legends and weaving them into a compelling contemporary narrative. - Mail on SundayIN THE DARK HEART OF THE COUNTRYSIDE...When Aidan Lloyd's bleak funeral is followed by a nocturnal ritual in the fog, it becomes all too clear that Aidan, son of a wealthy far...

The sixth unputdownable novel in the bestselling Merrily Watkins series____________________________Hereford's Diocesan Exorcist must encounter a legacy of evil within the crumbling walls of an old hotel along with memories of murder...**'Merrily has become an ever more engaging protagonist, a passionate, flawed modern women every bit as concerned with the intricacies of crime as she is with demons that go bump in the night.' - Geoffr...

With the framework of her own world beginning to crack, Merrily must venture into areas of mystery and menace; the secrets of the border's pagan past...'Ancient history, violent deaths, feuds, intrigues and murder. A most original sleuth.' - The Times'What I remember most was the sound of his breath. A hollow sound, as though he was drawing breath from somewhere else. Afterwards, he just said goodnight. I don't think he eve...

A standalone supernatural thriller from the author of the chilling Merrily Watkins Mysteries.December has the shortest days, the darkest nights... In the ruins of a medieval abbey on the Welsh Border, four young musicians start work on an album influenced by the site's bloody history. It's December 1980 - the night John Lennon will be murdered in New York. And there'll be more horror before the sun rises and the session tapes are burned. Or are they?Years l...

Single mother and Diocesan Exorcist Merrily Watkins must keep the peace in rural Hereford, quelling a modern witch hunt, and a killer with an old tradition to guard...Ancient history, violent deaths, feuds, intrigues and murder. A most original sleuth. - The TimesWhen a pagan couple buy a ruined church on the Welsh Border, there's an extreme reaction from the local fundamentalist priest. Is it a hate campaign or a...

A man's body is found below a waterfall. It looks like suicide or an accidental drowning – until DI Frannie Bliss enters the dead man's home. What he finds there has him consulting Merrily Watkins, the Diocese of Hereford's official advisor on the paranormal. It's nearly 40 years since the town of Hay-on-Wye was declared an independent state by its self-styled king. A development seen at the time as a joke. But the pastiche had a serious side. And behind it, unknown to most of the townsfol...

Religious strife, Glastonbury legends, the bones of King Arthur and the curse of the Tudors... can astrologer John Dee help the young Queen Elizabeth to avoid it?It is 1560, and Elizabeth Tudor has been on the throne for a year. Dr John Dee, at 32 already acclaimed throughout Europe, is her astrologer and consultant in the hidden arts... a controversial appointment in these days of superstition and religious strife.Now the mild, bookish Dee has been sent to...

The Prayer of the Night ShepherdA crumbling hotel on the border of England and Wales. A suggestion of inherited evil, a strange love affair... and the long-disputed origins of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles. Young Jane Watkins is fascinated, but her mother, Merrily, Diocesan Exorcist, can soon see the sinister side. Especially when blood appears in the fresh snow.The Smile of a GhostIn the affluent, hi...

A school girl possessed by evil spirits and a savage murder; Merrily is once again drawn into the deadly tangle of deceit and mystery in rural Herefordshire...Lies, cover-ups, danger and the unexplainable. The pace is fast and plot twists await the reader around every corner. Even sceptics will shudder. - Publishers Weekly'Black poles against the pale night . . . like a site laid out for a mass crucifixion.'

Merrily must unearth the mysteries of the decaying village of Underhowle, and tackle a particularly stubborn Detective Inspector who strays off course...**'Few writers blend the ancient and supernatural with the modern and criminal better than Rickman.' - Guardian'You're looking at his inspiration. These are ones he wishes he'd done, the ones he wishes he'd got to first.'**After half a century of decay, the village of Underhowle looked to b...

A thrilling collection starring the intriguing Merrily Watkins - late thirties, single mum, and diocesan exorcistThe Cure of SoulsWhen the local vicar refuses to help his parishioners in the aftermath of a savage murder, diocesan exorcist Merrily Watkins is sent in by the bishop. Already involved in the case of a schoolgirl whose mother thinks she's possessed by evil, Merrily is drawn into a deadly tangle of deceit as she uncovers the twisted secre...