The Cure of Souls

A school girl possessed by evil spirits and a savage murder; Merrily is once again drawn into the deadly tangle of deceit and mystery in rural Herefordshire...



Lies, cover-ups, danger and the unexplainable. The pace is fast and plot twists await the reader around every corner. Even sceptics will shudder. - Publishers Weekly





'Black poles against the pale night . . . like a site laid out for a mass crucifixion.'





A summer of oppressive heat in Herefordshire's hop-growing country, where the river flows as dark as beer. A converted kiln is the scene of a savage murder. When the local vicar refuses to deal with its aftermath, diocesan exorcist Merrily Watkins is sent out to a village with a past as twisted as the hop-bines which once enclosed it.



Phil Rickman was born in Lancashire and lives on the Welsh border where he writes and presents the book programme Phil the Shelf on BBC Radio Wales. He is the acclaimed author of Dr Dee, The Bones of Avalon, Midwinter Spirit (now a major ITV series), the Merrily Watkins Mysteries and the John Dee papers. Visit his website at: www.philrickman.co.uk



No-one writes better of the shadow-frontier between the supernatural and the real world.



Ancient history, violent deaths, feuds, intrigues and murder. A most original sleuth.



Phil Rickman is one of my all-time favourites. I love everything he's done.



[Rickman] is supremely skilful... a compelling contemporary narrative.



Tight with atmosphere, thick with latent violence... Brilliantly eerie.



Compassionate, original and sharply contemporary, Rickman's crime series is one of the best around.



Complex, absorbing, fascinating...



Few writers blend the ancient and supernatural with the modern and criminal better than Rickman.



The layers, the characters, the humour, the spookiness - perfect.



First rate crime with demons that go bump in the night.



Classic mysteries... [which] cleverly illuminate the darkest corners of our imaginations.



Engrossing and beautifully dark... a cracking good read ensues.