The Magus of Hay by Phil Rickman

Ooh, interesting! This was a Kindle daily deal which tempted me with the alluring of combination of paganism, murder and quirky bookshops, set just over the Welsh border. It’s part of a series – Merrily Watkins – chronicling the (mis)adventures of a parish exorcist, none of which I’ve read before so I plunged right into the latest installment. It reads well enough alone so you can follow the action, although the ongoing stories of the recurring characters remained slightly shrouded in mystery. But I enjoyed it nonetheless, and I’ve just downloaded the first two books in the series so I can get to grips with the beginning.

It’s certainly a different premise for a crime series. Merrily is the exorcist, called in to help (officially and unoffically) when bizarre occurances threaten the sanctity of Hay-on-Wye, famous for its bookselling trade. In this story, the death of a mysterious old man who lived a semi-isolated life up in the hills opens up a can of worms when his identity as a chaos magician is uncovered. Earlier in his life he had written extensively on how magic was central to the Nazi ideology, and this earned him unsavoury followers whom he spent years trying to avoid. But did someone uncover his past, and is his death a form of magical intent? When a young police officer investigating the case goes missing, events take an even darker turn.

I’ve not been to Hay-on-Wye for over twenty years, but I could really picture the town, and get a good feel of its inhabitants. The newcomers Betty and Robin with their creepy bookshop, which just might be the scene of a decades-old murder, are very sympathetic. And I loved Jeeter. Now I want to know if the actual shops are really there! The atmosphere is also built up very convincingly, as this seemingly picturesque town is revealed to harbour a sinister undercurrent of violence and hatred. Oddly, I didn’t want to leave, so engrossed I become with this odd community.

What did startle me was that according to the author, the story is not as far-fetched as it might appear – “For reasons of credibility, the eccentricity of Hay has been underplayed” he states in the credits. Several of the characters mentioned are actually real people, and the history that forms an integral part of the setting is true, as is the landscape. There are lots of famous people whose names are casually dropped, from Beryl Bainbridge to Aleister Crowley. But worryingly the satanic neo-Nazi groups on the Welsh border are also rather too real. It’s certainly challenged my romantic view of Wales…. But as a “slack pagan” myself I found it intriguing; the interplay of Christianity, neo-Paganism and and fascism could have been sensational, hysterical and misinformed, but Rickman handles it sensitively. I half-expected to be offended by the way in which Christianity or Paganism were depicted, but gratifyingly I wasn’t.

I can’t wait to read other books in this series. They’re refreshing, melding esoteric, mythical beliefs with the cold hard reality of a crime investigation, and producing something quite unique.

Atlantic Books, ISBN 9780857898685 (paperback, due June 2014)

In Too Deep by Bea Davenport

In Too Deep is a compulsive psychological thriller which kept me gripped throughout. It’s told by Maura, who’s run away from her life as wife and mother after the death of her best friend Kim, for which she feels responsible. But why?

As the story unfolds we learn that Maura’s perfect life in a small village was disrupted by the arrival of local reporter Kim – glamorous, sophisticated, predatory and very, very sharp. The most obvious story is that Kim would steal Maura’s husband Nick like a cuckoo in the nest; but this is not what happens, in a refreshing twist. Instead the two women form an unlikely but genuine friendship, in the face of hostility from the locals and particularly from Nick. Kim’s cynical attitude towards men is the only thing that naive Maura finds difficult to contend with, as she is so happily married; but Kim has already spotted Nick as the monster he really is. As the villagers’ tolerance of Kim reaches breaking point, Maura finds that her marriage is under pressure, and Nick’s response is to become violent. Before long, Kim is dead and Maura is in hiding. But a journalist is on her tail, determined to discover the truth…

The slow descent of Maura and Nick’s marriage into domestic violence is chilling and all too plausible; I often felt my insides clenching with the realistic horror of it. The friendship between the two women is also portrayed very convincingly, as you can both see the flaws in their relationship and the genuine alliance and mutual respect of two people who don’t quite fit. Kim’s influence on Maura comes across as a real liberation from a stultifying life, and the vile locals are truly worth hating. After reading this novel, I felt that perhaps Maura actions towards the end of the novel were slightly jarring, but women in abusive relationships are often forced to make difficult choices so maybe it just didn’t sit quite right for me. But ultimately this didn’t impact on my experience of the story, and I was gripped throughout, wanting justice for both women.

This is Bea Davenport’s first adult novel and it shows real promise; if you enjoy Sophie Hannah’s stories, definitely give this one a try! ***

Legend Press, 2013, ISBN 9781909395299