The Remains of An Altar
Published on 6. September 2007
Book
Paperback/Softback
512 pages
978-1-84724-091-0 (ISBN)
Description
NOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
'Compassionate, original and sharply contemporary, Rickman's crime series is one of the best around' The Spectator. * Spectator * 'Crime fiction lovers who like their stories with a quirky twist need look no further' Yorkshire Evening Post. * Yorkshire Evening Post * 'First rate. A passionate, flawed, modern woman, every bit as concerned with the intricacies of crime as with demons that go bump in the night' Daily Mail. * Daily Mail *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 179 mm
Width: 133 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
290 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84724-091-0 (9781847240910)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Phil Rickman | Julie Maisey
The Remains of An Altar
E-Book
09/2007
Quercus Publishing
€4.49
Available for download
Persons
Phil Rickman lives on the Welsh border where he writes and presents the book programme Phil the Shelf on BBC Radio Wales. He is the author of seven previous Merrily Watkins' Mysteries, introducing the Reverend in The Wine of Angels, and charting her career as the diocesan exorcist with Midwinter of the Spirit, A Crown of Lights, The Cure of Souls, The Lamp of the Wicked, The Prayer of the Night Shepherd and The Smile of a Ghost.