Phil Rickman Books In Order

Publication Order of Merrily Watkins Books

Publication Order of Merrily Watkins Companion Books

Publication Order of Grayle Underhill & Bobby Maiden Books

Publication Order of John Dee Papers Books

Publication Order of Marco Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Phil Rickman is a renowned author of supernatural and mystery novels. He was born in Lancashire, England and he developed an interest in writing at a young age.

Rickman particularly loved mysteries and spy stories. He also loved journalism and at only eighteen years old he got a job at a newspaper which was the start of his successful career in that field. However, he found that he was much more interested in writing and producing his own work.

Phil managed to do this when he wrote a documentary “Aliens” which he produced for Radio Wales and British Broadcasting Radio 4. The documentary was about the rise of English people who were moving to Wales because of the draw of cheap land in Wales, but the new residents did not receive warm welcome from the Wales native. This documentary went on to win him the Wales Current Event Affair Reporter of the Year award in 1987.

His first book, Candlenight, was published in 1991. He had received massive rejection from a number of producers prior to getting released. This was due to the fact that the novel was a horror novel, but had lots of humorous passages as well which made it hard to categorize. There was a notion that horror novels were not supposed to be funny and this made it hard to find publication. His second book, Crybbe was the most successful of his early work and it was the first to be released in the USA. According to Phil Rickman, his American producer renamed the novel to Curfew because Americans readers would not be able to pronounce “Crybbe” correctly.

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.

Phil’s most prominent novel series is the Merrily Waltkins series of mystery novels. This book has sold over 350,000 copies worldwide. This series has been translated into other languages and sold all over. Rickman has also written two works of historical mystery which features Elizabethan astrologer Dr. John Dee. The novels have received a massive following and were Kindle #1 best sellers.

Phil also has a couple supernatural standalone novels. This includes Cold Calling and Mean Spirit. They had originally been published under the name of Will Kingdom, but have since been republished under his name. All his stories are set in rural villages where everybody knows everybody and the towns have rich history and humorous, gruff local characters.

In an interview he said this approach shows another aspect of real life. Phil still presents his book program on the BBC Radio Wales, Phil the Shelf. He lives with his wife Carol. She was also a journalist, but currently works as her husband’s editor in their farmhouse near the Welsh border country.

Phil’s Merrily series is being produced into a TV series thanks to a partnership between ITV and SKY. This series has a total of 12 books which will all be produced if the first pilot project goes well. The Wine of Angels, the first book in the series, is about a single mother who is a parish priest in the late thirties. The priestess is strict about what she wants done and not to be done. She walks into a dispute over a play about the seventeenth-century where a clergy is accused of witchcraft which leads her to trouble.

Merrily and her teenage daughter later come to learn of a village where horrific murder is a tradition of the village that has spanned over centuries. Merrily’s daughter Jane is at the age where everything she does worries her mother.

Other characters in this book include Gomer Parry, who is in his late seventies and does not take any lip from anyone. At his age he has earned and maintained respect from those around him. He is a friend to Merrily who helps her in multiple ways through every book.

There is also Lawrence who Merrily help to start believing in himself and his music. He appreciated the help and he is always there to help Merrily and Jane. The local police team, including DCI Annie and DS Franny Bliss, always seem to fight with each other. The two find that one thing is for certain, they will eventually need to call on Merrily to help them solve their cases which ends up building a friendship.

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.

She tries everything she can, but she is always having problems getting to the root causes. Merrily is exposed to the job by a group of women clergy amd she finds it difficult to get the job done. The situation only gets worse as time goes on. As winter approaches in the old city of Hereford, a dead body is found in the river Wye. An ancient church is desecrated and there is an indication of evil in the Hereford Cathedral itself. The cathedral has been constructed where the tomb of St. Thomas Cantilupe lies in fragments. The book shows how Merrily tries to put the pieces together and get to the truth of the matter.

6 Responses to “Phil Rickman”

1. Lauraine Stephens: 2 years ago

   When I try to buy For the Hell of It, Fever of the World comes up instead. Is there a problem with For the Hell of It?

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     It’s possible For The Hell of It was just a planned title for that book initially. As I can’t find any evidence of the book. I also can’t see any data suggesting it’s an alternate title.

     Reply
   • Ian Short: 2 years ago

     ‘For the Hell of It’ was a working title during production of the novel that was eventually published as ‘Fever of the World”. Anyone who pre-ordered it under its working title should have received a copy of ‘Fever’.

     Reply
2. Janet Ackroyd: 2 years ago

   An avid fan….. trying to make sense of the order of the last three books in the Merrily Series…. Nights of the Lingering Ghosts; The Fever of the World and For the Hell of it…. am I right in thinking that I have got them in the right order and that they are all in the Merrily series (16; 17 & 18)?????

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     Hi – the list above is accurate. For books not released yet have to wait until they are released / have a set publication date.

     Reply
   • Ian Short: 2 years ago

     Both ‘Nights of the Lingering Ghosts’ and ‘For the Hell of It’ were early working titles during production of the novel that was eventually published as ‘Fever of the World’. Anyone who pre-ordered it under either working title should have received a copy of ‘Fever’. Here is the full list of Merrily Watkins novels to date, in order:
     1. The Wine of Angels (1998)
     2. Midwinter of the Spirit (1999)
     3. A Crown of Lights (2001)
     4. The Cure of Souls (2001)
     5. The Lamp of the Wicked (2003)
     6. The Prayer of the Night Shepherd (2004)
     7. The Smile of a Ghost (2005)
     8. The Remains of an Altar (2006)
     9. The Fabric of Sin (2007)
     10. To Dream of the Dead (2008)
     11. The Secrets of Pain (2011)
     12. The Magus of Hay (2013)
     13. The House of Susan Lulham (2015)
     14. Friends of the Dusk (2015)
     15. All of a Winter’s Night (2017)
     16. The Fever of the World (2022).

     NB. Although the series has been published over the past 24 years in real time, its internal chronology spans a five-year timeframe.

     Reply