You Should be Reading Phil Rickman and Here's Why:

'Few writers blend the ancient and supernatural with the modern and criminal to better effect than Rickman, whose Herefordshire-based series featuring exorcist – or, in church parlance, "deliverance consultant" – Merrily Watkins is both strikingly original and consistently intriguing. This time, it's a mixture of paganism and the military as Watkins and DI Frank Bliss find themselves dealing with a burned-out SAS chaplain and a bunch of obnoxious bankers who use the Welsh borders as a playground; their macho games include bizarre initiation rituals, but are tolerated because they boost the flagging local economy. A labyrinthine plot and a fascinating portrayal of the quagmire of ancient grudges and shifting allegiances of a close-knit community make this an absorbing and thought-provoking page-turner.'

From Laura Wilson's crime fiction column in The Guardian.