The Lamp of the Wicked by
Philip Rickman
pbk out October 03
(Pan)
at £6.99
This is the fifth of Phil Rickman's remarkable series about Merrily Watkins, the woman
priest of a parish in the Welsh Marches, who is also 'Deliverance Counsellor' to the
Hereford diocese, charged with investigating paranormal events and providing exorcism
where required. This latest book is the author's most ambitious, a hardback blockbuster
of 550 pages for only a tenner! But size isn't everything, as they say, and 'The Lamp' is a
compelling read, both for its complex plot and the underlying theme that maybe evil is a
more persistent phenomenon than maybe we realise. In this case, the evil is that of Fred
West and that awful saga of Gloucestershire's most notorious resident is woven into the
book in a subtle and rather disturbing way.
Many of the places in the book actually exist and Ross-on-Wye figures frequently, but
the two main locations are the fictional, but very believable villages of Ledwardine,
where widow Merrily lives with her rather stroppy teen-age daughter - and Underhowle,
on the edge of the Forest of Dean, itself a very peculiar area. The hamlet is directly under
the pylons and cables of the National Grid, which has great significance to the story;.Phil
Rickman must have done considerable research into the disputed effects of high-voltage
electricity on the human nervous system and one aspect of the plot is whether
psychopathic behaviour might be due to this or to paranormal phenomena.
Roddy Lodge, a cowboy excavation and drainage contractor, lives in Underhowle and
comes into conflict with Merrily's gravedigger pal Gomer Parry, who has a rival plant-
hire operation. A disaffected customer complains to Gomer about a septic tank installed
by Lodge and when he comes to look at it, he surprises the fellow in the act of removing
a woman's corpse in the bucket of his JCB. From here, the story becomes more and more
sinister and horrific, with the somewhat self-effacing Merrily being drawn in to what
seems to be yet another Gloucestershire serial murder epic.
Sub-plots abound - her timid affair with a burnt-out singer is being pushed along by her
daughter Jane, who in this book has given up her mystical phase for what seems
cynical atheism. Interestingly, I could not help wondering how much of her God-bashing
was a reflection of the author's own thoughts on the matter, as it is convincingly done.
This must have been a hard book to write and maybe needed some courage as well, for
the links with Fred West and the doubts about the undisclosed extent of his crimes - as
well as the hypothesis that maybe Fred's evil is still hovering around the county - may
not sit easily with some readers.
To indulge in some 'reviewer-speak', the book operates on two levels; a cracking good
mystery story, with corpses, police action, shock and horror - but also a thought-
provoking thread running through it, as to whether pure evil of the sort manifested by Fred
West might somehow be infectious and even survive the death of the perpetrator.
Phil Rickman is a very accomplished writer and even when dealing with macabre events
like these, he can still manage to inject snatches of whimsy and humour. His characters
are drawn with such realism that they step out of the pages and perform for you in your
mind's eye - it is no surprise that plans are afoot for a television adaptation of the Merrily
Watkins series.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
The Lamp of the Wicked by
Philip Rickman
