Friends of the Dusk by Phil Rickman
Introduced by Anne Brichto of Murder & Mayhem bookshop, Hay-on-Wye
Phil Rickman is the creator of the ‘Merrily Watkins’ series of occult-tinged detective novels and two novels based on the life of Dr Dee Astrologer to Elizabeth I.
Midwinter of the Spirit was televised last year with Anna Maxwell-Martin playing the lead. I thought she was very convincing as a female vicar who has been given the job as the local exorcist. Phil Rickman’s stories are not in horror genre but not quite straight detective stories either. They walk a challenging tight rope with there always being the possibility of perhaps … there might be dark and magical forces but there is no certainty.
Phil is a good friend to our Murder & Mayhem shop and has recently signed seven copies of his latest book Friends of the Dusk. The Guardian said it is “strikingly original and consistently intriguing ” and The Times stated “Intelligent rationalists will enjoy the way Rickman engages with the supernatural”.
Phil’s recommendations for readers are the detective books – long out of print – of P M Hubbard. He walked out with a stack of them today.
