As Winter draws in here the lure of the supernatural lingers. And so, as a result, I picked up the second book in the Merrily Watkins series by Phil Rickman. (The first book, The Wine of Angels, was reviewed by me way back in 2011.)

The second book continues to build on the premise of the first novel. Merrily is still debating on whether she actually wants to be a Deliverance Consultant (aka an ‘exorcist’ by the non-secular) as well as the vicar of Ledwardine.

This time around it’s a story of possession and spiritual entrapment, set partly in historical Hereford Cathedral as well as in Ledwardine village. In Hereford Merrily is being persuaded by the trendy bishop Michael (“Call me Mike”) Hunter to take on the role of Deliverance Minister for reasons that are not always entirely clear. It seems that the choice of Merrily may be political, partly to annoy Canon Dobbs, the imminently retiring Diosesan Exorcist, who seems dead against a woman being the next. Unsurprisingly Merrily does not like that idea.

With a title Midwinter of the Spirit, it should be clear that there are times when things seem rather bleak here.  Merrily and others do a lot of soul-searching, and it is difficult, life-changing stuff. Merrily begins the book going on a Deliverance training course, where she meets the gruff Welshman Huw Owen, who bluntly suggests that the job may not be for her. Events early on in the novel even make Merrily question the choice herself, and she is mentally and physically affected by one visit she makes to a hospital patient.

Seeing the physical and mental toll such matters have on her mother, Jane is also unsure whether her mother is doing the right thing. She also has some heart-searching to do, for as much as she wants her Mum to follow her belief she also thinks that by taking on extra duties her Mum is being lured even closer into organised religion, which in her mind is a bad thing. Jane herself is also uncertain about the purpose and meaning of religion in a modern society. With her friend Rowenna, a new arrival to the village, they visit a spiritual fair, which further confuses Jane on matters spiritual.

Others also questioning their purpose and self-meaning are characters first met in The Wine of Angels. After leaving Ledwardine and moving to Hereford, Merrily’s friend, retired musician Lol Robinson, is asked by a friend to look after his sister, fragile young woman Katherine ‘Moon’. Moon is trying to rebuild her life after a number of events, and to do so has returned to the place where she was born – and also the place where her father committed suicide when she was a child. Lol is torn between his friendship of Moon and his unrequited feelings for Merrily and becomes connected to events as the book progresses.

Of these events, there’s a range of odd to choose from. A body is found in the River Wye near the Cathedral, a nearby ancient church is desecrated, which Merrily has to investigate, and, perhaps scariest of all, signs of evil appear in the cathedral itself, where the tomb of medieval saint Thomas Cantilupe is being renovated.

It’s a potent mixture of contemporary values and ancient history, with current events linked to the past and the folklore of the area. What Phil manages to do so well is combine his fictional characters with real places and history, which grounds them in some sort of normality. Whilst there are supernatural events here, they’re slight enough to be readable by those who just like a good suspense story. The characters show progression and they’re engaging enough to keep the pages turning.

Midwinter of the Spirit takes a little while to get going. It’s a slow build of a book, but by the end all makes sense. Whilst there’s a slight feeling that things tie up a little too neatly, there’s also some intriguing plot points and characters that are set for no doubt further revelation later in the series (which is now up to fourteen novels, with a fifteenth due next year.)

For those hankering after a wallow in British rurality, combined with a certain creepy thrill, this series delivers.