The Fabric of Sin: A Merrily Watkins Mystery (Merrily Watkins Mysteries)

By now you'd think the Watkins saga would get boring. But it gets better and better. Especially with this latest addition. Makes me want to go back and read them all over again--and I can't wait for the next one! These are big books, chock full of historical references and atmosphere. Not your average "mystery." Love 'em.

Well, he's done it again. Phil Rickman continues to deliver with his latest Merrily Watkins book. Excellent story telling, deep and rich characters. He is constant in his ability to create a very particular atmosphere, of shadowy people and places. Never giving any solid clues. Are you dealing with just strange/odd people and places or truely supernatural events? It's truely a rare talent, to never quite go "over the top" - leaves you wondering. There are more things in Heaven and earth.....

If someone like Phil Rickman had been my history teacher in high school, I probably would have got better grades and an earlier interest in what may be the most fascinating subject of all. The point is, he does meticulous research and has the ability to make it come alive for the reader. Merrily's Border Country is steeped in ancient mysteries that can only be speculated about; so much is shrouded in the depths of time. This time out we have the Knights Templar and their connection with present day Freemasonry. Also there is a reference to the writer, M. R. James, without whose wonderful ghost stories many of us would have been cheated out of the experience of shivering in our beds late at night, searching the shadows and thinking, "There's no such thing as ghosts. Really there isn't..." But this certainly isn't some musty old tome written by an academic. This is the ninth (and you will see the significance of that number in the story) adventure with Merrily Watkins, her daughter Jane and her extended family. At this point poor Merrily is very stressed and who wouldn't be in her situation? Her position as Diocesan Exorcist is in jeopardy with the distinct possibility of losing it and having to take on multiple parishes much like the circuit riding preachers of old in the U.S. That, coupled with the gruesome things she has seen, would be enough to drive the most stable of us over the edge. But we are seeing her eventually becoming toughened by her experiences. She may still have self doubts but she won't be pushed around, even by her superiors. Helping in her investigation into the strange events surrounding the Master House in Garway are her lover, Lol Robinson and her daughter Jane. In the course of the book we see Jane growing up, taking charge of her life and Lol reaching a possible turning point in his career. I think this really is the best book of the series with Rickman throwing in the occasional biting social commentary. The murder mystery makes me think of Raymond Chandler who said that he did not write whodunits but rather was concerned with the reasons that people commit the act. Whodunit becomes whydunit and the motive in this one, when it is finally revealed, is absolutely shocking. Rickman is one of a group of really exceptional writers in the U.K. who include Kate Charles, Andrew Taylor, Stephen Bishop, Deborah Crombie and others who never seem to make our best seller lists which says something about the state of the publishing industry in our country. He is the best of the bunch and, while the temptation is to compare him with other writers like Chandler, Hammett and McBain, his writing is unique. There just is no one else like him. Unfortunately, we have to wait until next year for the next chapter in this superior series.

Let me add my enthusiasm for Fabric of Sin to the other reviews here. I've read the Merrily series from the beginning and have always thoroughly enjoyed them. This one is no exception. I'll not revisit the plot; I'll only say that the tension and action build to an excruciating climax. The main characters, Merrily, Jane, and Lol have all evolved and matured. Jane is no longer an obnoxious adolescent and Lol is not just a peripheral character but is in his own way a counseler. Merrily is losing her diffidence and becoming more comfortable as Diocesan exorcist, quite able to confront the bishop when necessary. Add the ghost stories of M. R. James, the Knights Templar (no, this isn't another DaVinci Code knock-off), and hints of royalty, and you have a book that is not easy to put down. Highly recommended!

"The Fabric of Sin" is the ninth Merrily Watkins procedural and frankly, she's getting worn to a frazzle. The deliverance consultant and parish priest for the diocese of Hereford hasn't had a vacation in five years, she smokes way too many Silk Cuts, and has a headache that doesn't want to quit. Her daughter Jane is at loose ends since her boyfriend went to University, and is still smouldering over Ledwardine's crooked land developers. The only bright spot in Merrily's life is her boyfriend, Lol, who is finally doing gigs after his second album burned up the charts (well, truthfully his album didn't quite make the charts, but it did sell out at one store). One character in this murder mystery attributes Merrily's physical ailments and existential dark-night-of-the-soul maunderings to premature menopause. This is a bit unkind as Merrily is only in her mid-forties. She just needs to take that long-overdue vacation, stop smoking, and marry Lol. This novel is not as tightly focused as "Remains of an Altar" (the eighth novel in the series), which shone brightly on the life and music of English composer, Edward Elgar. Instead, there are two loosely related plot devices swirling around the Edwardian ghost story author, M.R. James, and the current Prince of Wales. They are tangled together with Knights Templar, Freemasons (shades of Dan Brown), and Owain Glyndwr, the last Welsh Prince of Wales, in an old house, recently purchased by the Duchy of Cornwall. Merrily is asked to exorcise the house on the Welsh border, and is soon up to her dog collar in murder, devil worship, an ancient family feud, Templars, Freemasons, and (as always) Church of England politics. No wonder she has a headache. I'm a rabid M.R. James fan and thoroughly enjoyed the bits about his life and ghost stories. Prince Charles fans may enjoy his entanglement in the plot (which, frankly I thought was a bit silly). All Rickman fans will enjoy this ninth installment in the Merrily Watkins series in which she solves murders, both old and new, and also cocks a snoot at Baphomet a.k.a. The Green Man a.k.a. the Great God Pan.