TO DREAM OF THE DEAD

Emma Powell is the ideal narrator for Rickman's unique series featuring parish priest Merrily Watkins. Powell delivers an authentic accent for the residents of rural Hereford, England, both the educated and those who remain close to the region's superstitions. The always-cool-and-composed Merrily and her passionate daughter, Jane, are fascinating counterpoints to the timely issues that make up these layered mysteries. In this one, as Christmas approaches and a flood threatens, Merrily must weigh right and wrong, and ancient and modern beliefs as she decides how to assist her beloved church and congregation. Powell also skillfully depicts the heavy weather and strongly flowing river that are so much a part of the story's atmosphere. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2010]