The border town of Ludlow has it all: exquisite medieval streets, an imposing ruined castle, a parish church the size of a cathedral and a weight of history and legend. Wealthy people, famous people, have come to Ludlow to live. A sad teenage boy comes here to die ...dramatically, at sunset, in a fall from the ruins. Accident or suicide? Either way, no great mystery. Or is there? Robbie Walsh was the nephew of former Detective Sergeant Andy Mumford, newly - and reluctantly - retired from West Mercia CID. When Mumford's ailing mother becomes convinced she's still seeing her dead grandson in the old town, he brings in Merrily Watkins, parish priest, single mum and Deliverance consultant to the Diocese of Hereford. Is it dementia, delusion or something even more disturbing? Both scepticism and the dark underside of belief threaten Phil Rickman's engagingly open-minded heroine in this brilliantly structured, atmospheric thriller.

"Merrily Watkins faces her most challenging case yet in British author Rickman's unsettling seventh mystery to feature the Anglican priest and deliverance consultant to the diocese of Hereford (after 2004's The Prayer of the Night Shepherd). When the 14-year-old nephew of newly retired Det. Sgt. Andy Mumford falls from the ruined castle in the medieval town of Ludlow, the official inquest rules the boy's death a suicide. Suspecting foul play, Mumford seeks Merrily's aid. Two more deaths shatter the village, and Mumford, not yet at peace with his retirement, begins to investigate on his own. Rickman vividly depicts Ludlow's narrow streets and the sinister castle, but it's his masterly handling of the occult elements and their impact on the psychology of his sensitive and memorable characters that will keep readers mesmerized from start to finish. Agent, Andrew Hewson (U.K.). (Nov.)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)