It had been years since I'd first enjoyed the first three books in Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins series. Then the day came when I saw the next three sitting on my bookshelf, and I knew it was time to pick up book four, The Cure of Souls. Rickman knows how to blend many elements into a compelling, atmospheric tale.

There's the element of the supernatural that makes the story a tiny bit eery, even though the cause of mayhem is always rooted in very earthbound human behavior. There's the element of setting in which I always learn something about the area. In The Cure of Souls, this element is threefold: a bit about the history of hop growing and picking, the making of guitars, and Romany (gypsy) traditions. There's the ecclesiastical element which is done with a light touch. There's the strong element of mystery which keeps readers wondering what in the world is going on, and then there's my favorite-- the element of character. I truly enjoy the characters in this book.

Merrily Watkins is a woman with a true calling. She wants to do good. She wants to help her fellow human beings. She wants to raise her teenage daughter to be a good person, and she's still not convinced that she's the right priest for the job of diocese exorcist, but she's working hard to learn as much about it as she can. She has to work hard because too many people still look at her and think, "You're the wrong sex, you're too young, you're too small."

At the beginning of this series, I couldn't stand Merrily's daughter, Jane. Jane just got right up my nose, but I'm happy to say that, as she gets older, she's begun to realize that the world doesn't revolve around her and she needs to take other people into account. She's got good instincts in this book, and it's fun to watch the evolution of her character.

I love how Rickman begins his tales with overtones of the supernatural-- Ouija boards, fortune tellers, demonic possession, ghosts-- and then turns everything inside out to show how the mystery is actually rooted in the here and now. That takes skill, and when that skill is joined with an atmospheric setting and a strong cast of characters, it turns this series into a winner. ( )

In this story we are reunited with Prof Levin and Simon St John from "December". Note: Merrily is frequently described as attractive. Nothing wrong with that, but all those sleepless nights and skipped meals are going to take their toll. Not to mention all the ciggies (I think I already did). Give the poor woman a break.

I've read and enjoyed the three previous books in the Merrily Watkins paranormal series. Merrily, a deliverance minister, and her daughter Jane are wonderful, fully formed characters who jump right off the page. Plus Phil Rickman just picks you up and takes you to Herefordshire. I agree with another reviewer who said they had a hard time remembering this one. Me, too--and I just finished listening to it! Can't put my finger on it. The story is set around the Herefordshire hop industry and the gypsy community, entwined with a theme of spiritual possession. Never mind that this book didn't do it for me, I'll go on to read #5! ( )

Merrily Watkins is the deliverance minister for the Diocese of Hereford, i.e., an exorcist. She suffers in this outing two failures that cause her to question her adequacy for her vocation. One involves a good girl who develops an antipathy to her adoptive parents’ religion after trying to contact her dead mother on a Ouija board. The other involves her going to hop country along the Frome River, where she tries to help a local cottager whose local priest refused to help him. Such is the dry bones of the cases. The fleshy details involve hop country classism and racism, Gypsies, a sleazy real estate developer, his powerful girl-woman stepdaughter, and rock music.

I have read many Phil Rickman books by now and may have some trouble remembering this one, which despite being entertaining, and suspenseful, lacks a certain uumph. I know that one problem is that, after reading five of her adventures, I still don’t have a strong grip on Merrily as a character. I can’t even visualize her. I find her bland and uninteresting even in this tale, where she is put through the ringer. ( )

Not up to the standard of the series. The Gipsy thread tends to trivialize rather than heighten the drama here. Rickman had blended Celtic & Gipsy mystticism far better in December. Here both are diluted. ( )