The Smile of a Ghost

Description

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, newly-retired detective sergeant Andy Mumford take his personal fears to diocesan exorcist Merrily Watkins? More people will die before Merrily, her own future uncertain, uncovers in those shadowed, medieval streets, a dangerous obsession with suicide, the nature of death and the afterlife.

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 and the Merrily Watkins Mysteries.

No-one writes better of the shadow-frontier between the supernatural and the real world. * Bernard Cornwell, praise for Merrily Watkins * Ancient history, violent deaths, feuds, intrigues and murder. A most original sleuth. * The Times, praise for Merrily Watkins * Phil Rickman is one of my all-time favourites. I love everything he's done. * Diana Gabaldon, praise for Merrily Watkins * [Rickman] is supremely skilful... a compelling contemporary narrative. * Mail on Sunday, praise for Merrily Watkins * Tight with atmosphere, thick with latent violence... Brilliantly eerie. * Peter James, praise for Merrily Watkins * Compassionate, original and sharply contemporary, Rickman's crime series is one of the best around. * Spectator, praise for Merrily Watkins * Complex, absorbing, fascinating... * Andrew Taylor, praise for Merrily Watkins * Few writers blend the ancient and supernatural with the modern and criminal better than Rickman. * Guardian, praise for Merrily Watkins * The layers, the characters, the humour, the spookiness - perfect. * Elly Griffiths, praise for Merrily Watkins * First rate crime with demons that go bump in the night. * Daily Mail, praise for Merrily Watkins * Classic mysteries... [which] cleverly illuminate the darkest corners of our imaginations. * John Connolly, praise for Merrily Watkins * Engrossing and beautifully dark... a cracking good read ensues. * Jo Brand, praise for Merrily Watkins *