Merrily Watkins is Phil Rickman's main character. She's the Hereford Diocesan exorcist in a time when that's increasingly viewed at daft. The books aren't all out mystical though, as she gets called in to help with suspicious deaths (are they suicides, do the mystical elements mean anything?). In this book, she called in to help with someone who has fallen while rock climbing, a police officer behaving oddly round a suspect, and a former actor-turned-priest who is struggling with his faith. Along the way we get musings on her position, a certain mystical story with a Herefordshire twist, and the state of the Church of England.

The book wasn't a bad read. In many ways it reminded me of the earlier Watkins stories, which were more straight up murder mysteries. I just... felt that the COVID-19 storyline was strapped on to make it relevant (it could have just as easily been set where it was just arriving here, and viewed as a way to grow the church). In addition, the ending felt a little like Rickman wasn't sure how to really finish the book as well as he might have liked (you know how sometimes in school, you had to write an essay, and you got told you had 5 minutes left, so you rushed the ending? It felt like that).

If you can get over these, you'll definitely the book a good read.

This review contains minor spoilers.

I have given the entire Merrily Watkins series 4 stars; but Fever of the World just fell a little…flat. It was nice to catch up with old friends and see that everyone was in a good place: Merrily and Lol, Frannie and Annie, even Jane and Eirion; despite the backdrop of the early days of the pandemic. I usually walk away from a Rickman novel wondering if it was exceptionally cryptic or if I’ve just failed to put all the pieces together. I chalk some of my struggles up to being from the States and not having the benefit of a shared cultural background. I think that was to some extent definitely a problem with this installment. I really was thinking, “I think I get it but…. that’s it? It seems…underwhelming”. Then I really thought about the landscape, and what it would be like to be right in the heart of it, to be next to the Queen Stone; and I don’t think I can even conceptualize how profound an experience that would be.

Still, I have questions. What was the point of the spectral dead kids manifesting to Maya Madden, the TV producer doing the series on Wordsworth? Was it just to highlight the increased activity in the landscape – what with the past suspicion of haunting and exorcism of place by Canon Dobbs, the 250th anniversary of Wordsworth who worshipped nature and may have tapped into some of the ancient druid magic of the place, and the current druid activity with the lovely Diana Portis? Speaking of which, how exactly did Diana Portis “call down” her father-in-law from the Seventh Sister rock? Through an ancient druid ritual or with a foot to his back? Why is the word succubus treated like the pre-Trump era “P” word? And why was detective Darth Vaynor succubied? Just a wrong place, wrong time sitch? His tapping into the energy or Wordsworth, just his presence in King Arthur’s Cave or all of the above? Finally, why exactly does the C of E shy away from the paranormal? Why is deliverance and the Night Job being phased out? Without the paranormal, isn’t religion and the Church just a social club?

Fever of the World was solid. I liked it and I’ll keep reading the series. But it didn’t create the kind of page turning interest of previous installments. Not until the last 10% when things started coming together – hence 3 stars.

moving and spooky

Well up to the standard of the series, this book also tackles the first weeks of Covid very well. It is a stark reminder of how much we were floundering and gave me the shivers about that as well as the exorcism side of the story. Very readable, good to see Jane in full annoying mode as well as bringing forward D.C. David Vaynor and rounding out his character.