The Remains of an Altar (Merrily Watkins Mysteries)

Merrily Watkins, parish priest, single mum and Deliverance Consultant to the Diocese of Hereford, heads for the Malvern Hills to investigate an alleged paranormal dimension to a spate of road accidents in the sleepy village of Wychehill. Merrily is called in when two people are killed in a head-on crash that is also linked to the revamped local pub which, it seems, has injected the valley with a shattering, strobing surge of inner-city nightlife... and drugs. When a dealer is found savagely murdered below the great earthen hillfort of Herefordshire Beacon, police ask: is it a ritual killing, a gangland disposal or a cry of outrage? As Merrily and the police follow separate paths towards the truth, Merrily's teenage daughter, Jane, faces the consequences of her own obsession with a possibly prehistoric site in their home village of Ledwardine. Until, on a night of frenzied violence, in a place at the centre of an ancient, universal mystery, the final, shocking connections are made.

in 1934, The Dying Composer Sir Edward Elgar Feebly Whistled To A Friend The Theme From His Cello Concerto And Said, If You're Walking On The Malvern Hills And Hear That, Don't Be Frightened. It's Only Me. Seventy Years Later, Merrily Watkins—parish Priest And Deliverance Consultant To The Diocese Of Hereford—is Called In To Investigate An Alleged Paranormal Dimension In A Spate Of Road Accidents In The Malvern Village Of Wychehill. There, Merrily Discovers New Tensions In Elgar's Countryside. The Proposed Takeover Of A Local Pub By A Nightclub Owner With A Criminal Reputation Has Become The Battleground Between The Defenders Of Olde Englande And The Hard Men Of The Drug World—with Extreme And Sinister Elements On Both Sides. And As The Choral Society Prepares To Stage An Open-air Performance Of Elgar's caractacus At A Prehistoric Hill Fort, The Deaths Begin…another Spellbinding Thriller In Phil Rickman's Lauded Occult Mystery Series.

publishers Weekly

in What May Be The Most Captivating Mystery To Date In Rickman's Merrily Watkins Series (after 2006's the Smile Of A Ghost), Victims In Several Car Accidents Near The Malvern Village Of Wychehill Report Swerving To Avoid Ghosts. One Doesn't Have To Be A Believer In The Paranormal To Become Engrossed As Merrily, Parish Priest And Exorcism Consultant, Examines Connections That Some Have Made To The Famous English Composer, Elgar, Who Once Lived In Wychehill And Is Venerated By Many Residents Of The Town. As The Investigation Takes Merrily Deeper And Deeper Into The Lives Of The Villagers, Her Teenage Daughter Is Fighting Her Own Battle At Home Against A Proposed Housing Development That Will Destroy What's Considered Ancient Sacred Space. Rickman Provides (at Some Length) Meticulous Historical Background On Elgar And Vivid Descriptions That Create The Backdrop For An Unusual Cast Of Characters And A Dramatic, Thrilling Conclusion. (dec.)

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"In 1934, the dying composer Sir Edward Elgar feebly whistled to a friend the theme from his Cello Concerto and said, "If you're walking on the Malvern Hills and hear that, don't be frightened. It's only me." Seventy years later, Merrily Watkins--parish priest and Deliverance Consultant to the Diocese of Hereford--is called in to investigate an alleged paranormal dimension in a spate of road accidents in the Malvern village of Wychehill. There, Merrily discovers new tensions in Elgar's countryside. The proposed takeover of a local pub by a nightclub owner with a criminal reputation has become the battleground between the defenders of Olde Englande and the hard men of the drug world--with extreme and sinister elements on both sides. And as the choral society prepares to stage an open-air performance of Elgar's Caractacus at a prehistoric hill fort, the deaths begin...Another spellbinding thriller in Phil Rickman's lauded occult mystery series" -- B&N website (April 2008). "In high summer, darkness descends on Elgar's England. Shadowed by the Malvern Hills, the village of Wychehill is no rural paradise but an uneasy mix of embittered farmers, escapees from the city and a pub with a reputation for drug dealing. Called in to investigate an unsettling series of road accidents, Merrily Watkins stumbles into a barbed tangle of alienation, murder and the fatal pursuit of an archaic secret" -- Page [4] cover In high summer, darkness descends on Elgar's England. Investigating a series of road accidents in the Malvern Hills, Merrily Watkins stumbles into a barbed tangle of alienation, murder... and a mystical obsession with the landscape.