The House of Susan Lulham (Merrily Watkins Series, 13)

This was good until the end. I get that it’s a Novella, nevertheless it didn’t feel finished. That said, the story is good and has pace, I was surprised at the end - didn’t see it coming.

Excellent as usual, merrily and her support team on top form. Recommended for fans of the weird and supernatural .

I love the Hereford of Phil Rickman, this story adds to the rich tapestry we've come to know. Phil Rickman's take on the paranormal is just how it is - tantalising on the edge of doubt. I also enjoyed the modernity of the story and the rather poisonous presence of social media and the horrific people who inhabit that twilit, troll-inhabited subterranean world, surely more terrifying than any ghost Merrily could dispel with St Patrick's Breastplate! I doubt even that would be effective in such a case.Great atmosphere, characters and Rickman can always find a wealth of paranormal interest to reel us in.

Another great book from one of my favourite authors. As looking-over-your-shoulder creepy as ever and, of course, a great plot to keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. Sam x

It's weird... I've read all of Phil Rickman's Marrily Watkins books, and grumbled that given she's the Diocesan Exorcist, the books... aren't that scary. This book takes a different tack. Instead of it being,myterious in the whodunit sense, it's more supernaturally spooky, watching what happens in a house, after a woman commits suicide there.The book was a decent read. I just found it somehat short. I mean it made some fair points about belief and the use f social media, it's just it felt... somewhat rushed.I would have liked the characters to have been fleshed out more.I read somewhere that the book is an expanded short story, and I suspect it shows to people who read much.

Merrily Watkins is asked to look into the strange phenomena which are bothering a young woman who has recently moved into an architect designed house in Hereford which was formerly owned by Susan Lulham who committed suicide in spectacular fashion. Zoe feels that Susan is till there in the house. So far so normal for Merrily's other job as Diocesan Deliverance Consultant. But Merrily has doubts about the whole thing - something doesn't ring true. As she and Sophie - the Bishop's lay secretary - work to uncover the history of the house, she becomes more and more worried by what they find.This is a really spooky short read and I was very glad I read it in daylight as I found I kept looking over my shoulder at the slightest noise. It is a novella and can be read at a sitting and it is an expanded version of the short story of the same name which appeared in the anthology 'Oxcrimes'. I read the short story first but you don't actually need to as the novella is complete in itself.If you haven't read any of this author's Merrily Watkins series then this novella might be a good place to start even though it is the latest on the series. It does give you a good idea as to whether you might enjoy the full length novels. For Merrily Fans this will stave off the withdrawal symptoms for a while.

In 2014 Oxfam published a book of short crime stories, Oxcrimes, which included "The House of Susan Lulham" by Phil Rickman. This featured Merrily Watkins, his much loved Vicar/ diocesan deliverance consultant who has featured in a series of longer novels. But much was left unsaid in that story, and now Rickman has returned to it at greater length.Susan Lulham ("Suze") killed herself several years ago in the titular house, and it's been hard to sell or let it since. And the current resident now reports disturbed nights, strange writing on the mirror and a sense of... something. But is she telling the truth, or just out to make a name on social media? Merrily - often teetering on the edge of scandal before - has to choose whether to step away or risk ridicule in a secular-minded world.This is a full story, not just a little extra material, and well worth reading even if you have "Oxcrimes". The story there ended abruptly: it wasn't clear how Merrily would get out of the mess she'd stumbled into, or what had really happened in the House. Here, we learn more about its history - background which Merrily herself wishes she'd unearthed herself in the first place. More than that, it brings us up to date on Merrily, alone without Jane or Lol, and (I hope) promises more about her in future.A spooky read for midwinter. Buy it!

Initially, I though that was the cue for me to finally give up the ghost with the Merrily series. Here, the hapless and wilful Merrily is increasingly annoying as she gets herself into yet another unlikely scrape. And while Rickman cranks up the blood and gore, the novella is strangely flat and contrived (the repetition of the title is one example), although there are some good descriptive passages (Rickman has a particularly flair for describing the sky). I have read most of the novels in the series, apart from a couple (I gave up half way through The Remains of an Altar and skipped The Fabric of Sin), didn't enjoy The Magus of Hay nor this one... However, I then decided to give Friends of the Dusk a go before giving up the ghost entirely, and am glad I did.