The Wine of Angels (Merrily Watkins Mysteries)

The Merrily Watkins series will have you hooked. Join Merrily in her chilling tales of murder, mystery and intrigue. The new vicar had never wanted a picture-postcard parish - or a huge and haunted vicarage. Nor had she wanted to walk into a dispute over a controversial play about a seventeenth-century clergyman accused of witchcraft... a story that certain long-established families would rather remained obscure. But this is Ledwardine, steeped in cider and secrets... A paradise of cobbled streets and timber-framed houses. And also - as Merrily Watkins and her teenage daughter, Jane, discover - a village where horrific murder is a tradition that spans centuries. Few writers blend the ancient and supernatural with the modern and criminal better than Rickman. - Guardian THE FIRST IN THE INCREDIBLE MERRILY WATKINS SERIESMerrily Watkins: late thirties, single mum, parish priest. Cosy? I don't think so...The new vicar had never wanted a picture-postcard parish - or a huge and haunted vicarage. Nor had she wanted to walk into a dispute over a controversial play about a seventeenth-century clergyman accused of witchcraft... a story that certain long-established families would rather remained obscure.But this is Ledwardine, steeped in cider and secrets...A paradise of cobbled streets and timber-framed houses. And also - as Merrily Watkins and her teenage daughter, Jane, discover - a village where horrific murder is a tradition that spans centuries. The first in the historically rich, atmospheric mystery series featuring female exorcist Reverend Merrily Watkins The new vicar had never wanted a picture-postcard parish#8212;or a huge and haunted vicarage. Nor had she wanted to walk into a dispute over a controversial play about a 17th-century clergyman accused of witchcraft, a story that certain long-established families would rather remained obscure. But this is Ledwardine, steeped in cider and secrets. A paradise of cobbled streets and timber-framed houses. And also#8212;as Merrily Watkins and her teenage daughter, Jane, discover#8212;a village where horrific murder is a tradition that spans centuries ‘The red soil and the long, wooded hills... the twisted houses with old bones of blackened oak. And the apples. Why were apples so wholesome while the orchard was so oppressive?’ The new vicar had never wanted a picture-postcard parish. But appearances deceive. Ledwardine has a hidden history of abuse and murder, and Merrily Watkins might do well to heed the anonymous message that speaks of *The Devil’s Minister* and adds: *let him lie. Be warned*. This is the novel that introduces Merrily Watkins, before the ongoing contemporary exorcism series begins with *Midwinter of the Spirit*. It looks like a paradise parish: cobbled streets, black and white timber-framed houses. But, even before she moves in, Merrily Watkins, the new woman priest, has witnessed an ugly death. Soon she'll be involved in a bitter dispute over a play about a 17th century vicar accused of witchcraft ... a story which certain old families would rather remained obscure. Welcome to Ledwardine, steeped in cider and secrecy. And, as Merrily and her teenage daughter Jane, discover - a village where horrific murder is a tradition spanning centuries A paradise parish of cobbled streets and timber-framed houses, and a huge, haunted vicarage were not what the Revd Merrily Watkins ever had in mind. Nor had she wanted to walk into a local dispute over a play about a curious 17th century cleric accused of witchcraft ... a story that certain old-established families would rather remained in obscurity. But this is Ledwardine, steeped in cider and secrets. And also - as Merrily and her teenage daughter, Jane, discover - a village where horrific murder is a tradition spanning centuries When Rev. Merrily Watkins takes up residence as the newly appointed priest-in-charge in the picture-perfect community of Ledwardine, she discovers a pagan influence lurking beneath the town's sunny surface that links the community to a horrific, centuries-old murder. In resurrecting the 17th-century murder in the form of a play, tensions between the townsfolk come to a head, and it's up to Merrily to resolve their issues The first instalment in the Merrily Watkins series: The new vicar of Ledwardine is faced with unexpected hauntings and murderous traditions in her new 'cosy' parish...