A CROWN OF LIGHTS

Author Phil Rickman and narrator Emma Powell are an ideal pairing for this mystery. Merrily Watkins, an Anglican "deliverance" (exorcist) priest, is called upon when a young pagan couple purchase a derelict church. Powell impeccably delivers the dark and forbidding aspects of the story along with the gentle descriptions of the English countryside and exposition on church history and canon. As the new couple plan to renovate the church into a home and a place to conduct neopagan services, Powell deftly captures the reactions of the locals. Some are supportive of their plans; others of are vehemently opposed. Particularly enjoyable are the spirited debates between Merrily and her feisty, often questioning daughter, Jane. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2014]