The Wine of Angels (Hardcover)

In order to read Mr. Rickman's work, you have to be prepared to 'read a movie' in the sense that he writes a very good picture and he puts his characters in situations that put you on edge emotionally- so well that you share the emotion of the moment.

He gives Merrily for one some very realistic obstacles and exploits them well. The main obstacle for her in this book is the fact that she is a female priest; she faces discrimination by the men AND the women of her parish. You can feel the weight of the situation on her shoulders and struggle with her as she responds to the challenges. She is very clear and calculated, always honest with herself.

Lol (not laugh out loud) has a past that haunts him in the present. His very timid manner is both the cause and result of the events that lead him to where we get to know him and make his obstacles all the more daunting and real to the reader.

Jane. Merrily's daughter at the tender age of fifteen, rebellious of her mother's ordination yet supportive of her mother as a woman, she gives Merrily another obstacle in the story as although she is not 'out of control' she does get herself in some situations. Jane is also introduced to another spirituality that becomes a point of argument and point of understanding between her and her mother.

All in all, this whole series is a very good read- I am still going strong!

In this particular book, Merrily (a priest in the Anglican church) scouts out the village that will be her next post, and participates in a seemingly harmless ritual in an ancient apple orchard. Although the ritual is meant to embue the orchard with new life and increase the apple harvest, it is enacted by a yuppie couple who only intend to promote commercialism in the village and increase tourism. Something goes very wrong, and an old man dies in a particularly horrible and bloody way.

Throughout the rest of the book, we see this dynamic tension between the modern world and the darker, "old" ways of the English countryside. While all this is going on, we get to know Merrily and her feisty daughter who both have their own problems adjusting to small village life. Rickman does a great job of keeping us on the edge of our seat, as we wonder how Merrily will resolve her position in the church with the undeniably powerful dark forces that confront her.

I must say that I never saw the ending coming, and was pleased by the clever resolution.