The Fever of the World: Merrily Watkins is back, in this chilling and transfixing mystery (Merrily Watkins Series Book 16)

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This small town looks very peaceful and almost boring at first, but Merrily soon discovers that it has a history of horrific unsolved murders, pagan rituals and superstitions. With the help of psychologists, new found friends and the town’s police department, Merrily is able to solve some of the problems that plague this little Gothic town. I'm not quite sure why there is a different book 15 on Goodreads (and two versions of this); this is the "real" 15th book in the series. I understand Phil has been serious ill and has taken two years to recover and the previous book was suspended and a replacement written. I'm not sure quite how the continuity from book 14 is (or isnt) dealt with. Having finished, I understand the continuity. The books cover a period of around 5 years now, but this book is set in March 2020, whereas the first book was effectively set quite a few years earlier than 2015. stars. Terrific book. Definitely a favorite, and one I'm glad I own. I really wish this one hadn't been genrefied. In my opinion, this is not just any crime novel. This book is special. It has lots of depth. And these characters! My goodness. This man knows how to write. He really makes this village come alive. I am truly impressed. Not sure why this series isn't better known. What's not to like? British countryside, huge old spooky houses, eccentric people, ghosts/fairies, sheep(!). About The SeriesThe Merrily Watkins series is centered around the life of the main protagonist. Merrily is a 36 year old single mother whose husband was killed in a car crash, leaving her with a teenage daughter, Jane. I really liked the atmosphere of the setting. It was dark and foreboding. I doubt I'll ever think of an apple orchard in quite the same way again. The meld of Paganism and Christianity added to the atmosphere.

Jane, Watkins’ daughter, has an obsession with spiritualism. And it doesn’t take her long to find like-minded people at her school, kids that find the idea of spirits, and exorcists, and Satanism alluring.

If You Like Merrily Watkins Books, You’ll Love…

Though one who knows the genre can probably guess the major twist as soon as they see the pieces set up, it was at least told in a way that seems like it is treating it as a twist. I was not surprised by it, and I guess that's also a part of the genre, yes?, to play by certain rules so the reader can feel clever. Another, sort of anti-twist, I found much more enlightening. Without spoilers I guess this seems like nonsense, but that's ok. But Watkins’ arrival coincided with the manifestation of a local dispute. A family was hell-bent on reviving an ancient festival, one that had attracted fervent support and opposition.

the closest was something that sounded more like a West Country accent... unless the reader just got it very wrong! 😆

At a whim and because it came up in a group discussion, I decided this might make for good reading this time of year. Not that this book is overpowered by what I call the woo-woo factor, but there are plenty of eerie, mystical moments that helped me decide to add it to the Halloween book list. I was interested in reading this as I had watched the TV mini series based on the 2nd book in the series Midwinter of the Spirit which I had enjoyed. I found the story slow getting started but that is not unusual with a new series as you need to establish the characters and the world they inhabit so a lot of time is spent introducing us to the characters and the village and the traditions versus the past. I think my expectations were of a story that would be a bit more paranormal and spooky but to me this was more of a mystery and a psychological thriller and I was a little disappointed as I had wanted something different from the mysteries I often read.

Heavily armed US doomsday preppers, building fortresses and bunkers in readiness for the Apocalypse? Pah, old news, seen it all before – on Louis Theroux for one. But I like BronyCon in Baltimore, a convention for grown adult male enthusiasts of My Little Pony. And the Japanese agency that hires out fake friends and family members for people whose real ones don’t measure up (if anyone starts one up over here, let me know). And the Texas couple who share their house with a two-tonne buffalo. Do you though, RC and Sherron, do you really? Does Wild Thing the wild plains buffalo actually have the run of your house when the cameras aren’t there (it does look very tidy). Or are you just looking for a bit of attention? In the second book of the Merrily Mystery series – Midwinter of the Spirit, Exorcism is no longer favoured by the Church of England and the post of Diocesan Exorcist has been changed to Delivery Ministry. This sounds less sinister and more caring, so the job is given to a woman. Merrily, who is a parish priest and a single mother, gets the job. Essentially, the mystery boils down to what happened to a 17th century minister who killed himself in the apple orchard. A playwright who believes the minister was gay wants to stage a play about him in the church and this throws the village into an uproar that Merrily must navigate on her very first days.The series focuses on Merrily Watkins, a pretty, middle aged deliverance minister for the diocese of Hereford-shire and the Church of England. Deliverance is merely a diplomatic term that hides her true vocation – she is the church sponsored exorcist, the only female one in a long time. A single mother, she spends most of her time engaged in verbal jousts with her daughter Jane and brooding over her love affair with an ageing musician with severe agoraphobia – Lol Robinson – while juggling her night job – offering spiritual succor to the residents of a countryside that hides several legends (some not so pleasant) under its innocent green facade. And when he died in an accident, he left a daughter behind. A single mother, Watkins, who was also a priest, thought she would find solace in Ledwardine. Determined to steer clear of the lights and sounds of life in the big city, Ledwardine promised Watkins a peaceful and quiet existence. His first novels, Candlenight and Curfew/Crybbe were successful on both sides of the Atlantic. and drew him comparisons with Stephen King. The books would be described as ‘something new and creepy.’ Phil wrote a number of horror books before turning to crime and mystery; his early love from childhood. Apart from the discomfort Merrily feels about her new home, she also finds herself immediately thrown into a local dispute. Newcomers, the Cassidy’s, want to reinstate an ancient village festival and revive the local cider industry. The planned festival includes a proposed play about a Seventeenth Century clergyman who was accused of witchcraft and it has invoked local passions; both for and against.