Synopses & Reviews
A spooky supernatural thriller by the author of the Merrily Watkins series
Liam Defford doesn't believe in ghosts. As the head of a production company, however, he does believe in high-impact TV. On the lookout for his next idea, he hires journalist Grayle Underhill to research the history of Knap Hall—a Tudor farmhouse turned luxury hotel, abandoned by its owners at the height of its success. The staff has been paid to keep quiet about what happened there, but the stories seep through. They're not conducive to a quick sale, but Defford isn't interested in keeping Knap Hall for more than a few months. Just long enough to make a reality TV show that will run nightly. A house isolated by its rural situation and its dark reputation; six people—known to the nation but strangers to one another—locked inside; but this time Big Brother is not in control.
Review
"Cleverly blends supernatural elements with a conventional whodunit plot." Publishers Weekly
Review
"A thinking reader's Elizabeth George." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"First rate. A passionate, flawed, modern woman, every bit as concerned with the intricacies of crime as with demons that go bump in the night." Daily Mail
Review
"Cleverly blends supernatural elements with a conventional whodunit plot."
Publishers Weekly"A thinking reader's Elizabeth George."
Kirkus Reviews"Compassionate, original, and sharply contemporary. Rickmans crime series is one of the best around." Spectator
Review
"Compassionate, original, and sharply contemporary. Rickmans crime series is one of the best around." Spectator
Synopsis
Called in secretly to investigate an allegedly haunted house with royal connections, Merrily Watkins, deliverance consultant for the Diocese of Hereford, is exposed to a real and tangible evil. A hidden valley on the border of England and Wales preserves a longtime feud between two old border families as well as an ancient Templar church with a secret that may be linked to a famous ghost story. On her own and under pressure with the nights drawing in, the hesitant Merrily has never been less sure of her ground. Meanwhile, Merrilys closest friend, songwriter Lol Robinson, is drawn into the history of his biggest musical influence, the tragic Nick Drake, finding himself troubled by Drakes eerie autumnal song "The Time of No Reply."
Synopsis
NOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA 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 discovers ancient connections between the house and the nearby church, built by the Knights Templar whose shadow still envelopes isolated Garway Hill and its scattered communities. Why did all the local inns have astrological names? What deep history lies behind the vicious feud between two local families? And what happened here to intimidate even the great Edwardian ghost-story writer M R James?
When Merrily learns that she - and even her daughter, Jane - are under surveillance by the security services, she's ready to quit. But a sudden death changes everything, and she returns to Garway to uncover fibres of fear and hatred stitched into history and now insidiously twisted in the corridors - and the cloisters - of power.
About the Author
Phil Rickman is the author of the John Dee series and the Merrily Watkins series.