Mean Spirit

This is a great follow-up to The Cold Calling, Kingdom's first book (Kingdom being the non de plume of successful crime/mystery writer Phil Rickman). Some favourite faces return - Bobby Maiden, Grayle Underhill, Marcus Bacton and Cindy Mars-Lewis (the entertaining cross-dressing shaman) - to deal with the case of a troubled psychic, Persephone "Seffi" Callard, who is being plagued by a spiritual hitchhiker. There are plenty of nail-biting moments, but you don't want the story to end (knowing it is the only other Kingdom book). When it does, you're left feeling that this unusual band of friends have many more stories to tell. This is another great addition to the Rickman shelf in my household.

I made the mistake of reading this book before first book in this series, The Cold Calling. I thought that this was a stand-alone novel, unfortunately, it's not. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had read the first book first so I could understand some of the background with the characters that isn't really explained in this book.

For fans of Phil Rickman--or, indeed, of any other British/Welsh mystery with overtones of horror and suspense--this is your book. Kingdom is a talented author, sporting a style that puts you in touch with the characters immediately. As Rickman does, Kingdom makes you want to visit the Welsh border tomorrow. Read his other book if you haven't already--before you read this one. I look forward to finding out more in the lives of Grayle, Cindy, Marcus and Bobby. Bravo.