Kindle
$9.49
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$35.99
Paperback
from $6.61
Kindle Price: $9.49

Save $0.50 (5%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $17.05

Save: $9.56 (56%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Phil Rickman
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

All of a Winter's Night (Merrily Watkins Mysteries Book 15) Kindle Edition

by Phil Rickman (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,760 ratings
See all formats and editions
It begins in the fog, with a bleak village funeral. In the early hours of the following morning, Merrily Watkins and her daughter Jane are made aware that Aidan Lloyd, son of a wealthy farmer, will not be resting in peace. A rural tradition is displaying its sinister side as an old feud re-ignites. It's already a fraught time for Merrily, her future threatened by a bishop committed to restricting her role as deliverance consultant, or diocesan exorcist. Suddenly there are events she can't talk about as she and Jane find themselves potentially on the wrong side of the law. Meanwhile, DI Frannie Bliss, investigating a shooting, must confront the growth organized crime which is contaminating the countryside. On the Welsh border, the old ways are at war with the modern world. As the days shorten and the fog gives way to ice and snow, Merrily Watkins is drawn into a conflict centered on one of Britain's most famous medieval churches, its walls laden with ancient symbolism.
Previous page
  1. Book 14 of 15
    Merrily Watkins Mysteries
  2. Print length
    494 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Corvus
  6. Publication date
    July 21, 2017
  7. File size
    5550 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
Next page
  Report an issue with this product or seller
Next 2 for you in this series See full series
Total Price: $18.48
By clicking on the above button, you agree to Amazon's Kindle Store Terms of Use
More like All of a Winter's Night (Merrily Watkins Mysteries Book 15)
Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  2. The Cold Calling
    Kindle Edition
    $4.09
  3. Mean Spirit
    Kindle Edition
    $4.49
  4. The Man in the Moss
    Kindle Edition
    $9.49
  5. Marco's Pendulum
    Kindle Edition
    $3.99
  7. Night After Night
    Kindle Edition
    $7.99
  10. Winter's Gifts
    Kindle Edition
    $5.99
  12. The Hollow Kind: A Novel
    Kindle Edition
    $12.99
  13. The Girl from Rawblood: A Novel
    Kindle Edition
    $9.99
  14. The Chalice
    Kindle Edition
    $9.99
  16. The Fourth Haunting
    Kindle Edition
    $2.99
  25. December
    Kindle Edition
    $9.99
  29. Black Light
    Kindle Edition
    $6.99
Next page
Loading...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I have a thing for long series with complex characters, moral ambiguity and evocative writing, and Rickman's Merrily Watkins series is one of the very best." —Diana Gabaldon.

"I'm going to have to find the preceding 13 Merrily Watkins mysteries, ASAP."—Kingdom Books, Mysteries Review Blog

"Rickman once again cleverly blends supernatural elements with a conventional whodunit plot. . . . The writing and characterizations are first-rate." —Publishers Weekly on The Fabric of Sin.

"What a captivating character Merrily Watkins turns out to be. . . . Reads like something that Agatha Christie and Jane Haddam might have collaborated on. " —Booklist on To Dream of the Dead.

"First rate crime with demons that go bump in the night." —Daily Mail on the Merrily Watkins series.

“Rickman makes suspension of disbelief easy in his combining of natural and supernatural phenomena.” —Publishers Weekly Online

"clear your schedule for page-turning reading"—Kingdom Books, Mysteries Review Blog

About the Author

Phil Rickman is a British author of supernatural and mystery novels.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0746Q8TYH
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Corvus (July 21, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 21, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5550 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 494 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,760 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Phil Rickman

Phil Rickman

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,760 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Veronica Lynn Pit Bull
5.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2 stars
Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
All of a Winter’s Night is another atmospheric installment in the Merrily Watkins series. The story telling is subtle and the horror when it comes is oftentimes more inferred than overt. I must admit that sometimes it goes over my head. I’m blaming it on being American. Case and point – Gomer and Lol in the churchyard – noticing something may be amiss and setting it to rights. Made perfect sense to me. Wasn’t batting an eye. And then suddenly people are talking about crimes and spiritual atrocities and here I thought it was a solid work ethic and attention to detail.

14 books in and it’s a given that a significant part of the enjoyment is visiting with characters you’ve emotionally invested in. Merrily and Lol are solid in their supportive and drama-free, if still somewhat on the down-low relationship. Lol’s in a fairly good place (for Lol) working on his music and Merrily is coming into her own with both the Day job *and* the Night Job. Or she would be if Bishop Innes wasn’t trying to dismantle deliverance and stick it to her at every possible turn.

As it turns out the Night Job sees almost as much action as the Day Job in Merrily’s neck of the woods. For example, one minute she’s performing a perfunctory funeral for Aiden Lloyd a young man cut down in a tragic accident and then 12 hours later she’s looking out the rectory window and it seems a band of creepy looking figures are dancing on his grave. Merrily can not catch a break. Next thing you know she’s embroiled in the middle of a generational feud related to modern rape of the land annihilation farming versus semi-pagan, spiritual, nurturing the land farming and greed that leads to murder. Then the rumors start flying and the bodies start piling up and Merrily and her spiritual investigation are on a parallel course with Frannie and Annie and their legal investigation until everything comes to a head.

What I liked:
1. Lol and the Border Morris Dancing – very cool to watch I googled it on youtube.
2. The possibility of Jane re-inventing Lucy Devenish’s Ledwardine Lore shop.
3. Merrily’s conversation with Paul the self-serving mole
4. Charlie Howe – as long as it doesn’t cause problems for Frannie and Annie (And Pierce right along with him).
5. The possibility of Eirion coming back into the picture.
6. Rajab Ali Khan – can he please join Merrily’s Scooby gang and become a regular character.

What I didn’t like:
1. 19 year old Jane annoys me. She seems rather immature and her coming of age angst and resulting relationship drama just seem….ridiculous. Luckily she seems to be pulling it together
2. Merrily and the police working parallel but not together. Missed the Merrily and Bliss comradery.
3. Frannie and Annie meeting with Charlie. Because it worked out so well the last time. I really like Bliss but I wanted to smack him upside the head – although I suppose ultimately it will be helpful to Annie.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Mennonite Medievalist
5.0 out of 5 stars grim, downbeat, feel-good
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2017
Verified Purchase
If you haven’t begun the Merrily Watkins Series, don’t start here, but definitely start much earlier, and get here eventually. No one else out there is doing quite what these books are doing: exploring with mystery-thriller-horror plots how it feels to have your religion, relationships, livelihood, hometown, and ties with the past near-constantly in peril. The humor’s dry, dark, wry. The main characters are fetchingly and heart-rendingly vulnerable, easy to root for if difficult to watch squirm in emotional pain. The series carves out a home for itself just barely in supernatural territory—always a few frissons: ghost encounters, revenants, malevolent powers, religious rituals that may or may not be what they purport to be but are usually something, hard to deny, nonetheless. Phenomena grounded in the highly peculiar life, folklore, and history of the Welsh Border. And with all that powerful pathos, with those mystery novel plots that lead through clues to a sort of resolution, with those supernatural chills, comes the pleasure of getting to know the salt-of-the-earth people in a small British town, a town you want to come back to, to meet those good and interesting people again, even if it comes with the cost of them being again in distress.

This particular instalment is a bit of a slow-starter, in part because Rickman finds a role for almost every major series character in its bravura plot (the only one I can think of who’s missing is Anthea White, and after her star turn in Friends of the Dusk she could probably use the rest). All that elaborate plot machinery takes a good bit of setting up, so, stay the course. It all, as usual, starts to speed up and tick down quite exhilaratingly mid-book, then goes off like clockwork—the mystery plots (a supernatural appearance, a murder) end, but the character and setting storylines that Rickman is juggling as they arc throughout the series each advance without actually arriving at some point of satisfactory rest. The book story resolves, but the series stories haven’t, so we the readers can shut the book and walk away with a clearer sense that it is possible for things to turn out alright than the series ever seems to give its characters.
10 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Russell J. Sanders
4.0 out of 5 stars Another good entry in the series
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
I am a Phil Rickman fiend! I eagerly await his newest books, especially the Merrily Watkins series. Then, when the book arrives, I put it in my “to read” stack, waiting for the perfect time to savor it. I sometimes delay my pleasure for months because I want to be in the right mood and frame of mind to devour it. His last book disappointed me in that he did not include many of the familiar characters, having them away from the tiny village of Ledwardine for whatever reason. This book, All of a Winter’s Night, not only brings them all back to the fold, but each has the prominent place they’ve always had in the narrative. And that’s a good thing. This time Merrily, the local deliverance minister (think exorcist) is dealing with murders that are heavily entrenched, as they always are, in folklore. Specifically, this tale is entangled with Morris dancers. Rickman is amazing in how he does his research and manages to build a story around ancient traditions. He doesn’t disappoint this time. I have to say, however—and it may just be my own frame of mind—I found All of a Winter’s Night to be a bit plodding. Rickman does a masterful job, usually, of telling a bit of the tale, leaving us guessing, switching to another related incident and character, leaving us guessing, and then getting back to the original until all is weaved together and the tale is told. I love that. But I did find it a bit disconcerting this time around. I don’t think it’s the fault of the book or the author, for I find myself annoyed with familiar and beloved episodes of TV series these days. I’m probably just “going through something” personally. You, however, will most likely love this book if you like British mysteries heavily laced with folklore featuring engaging characters.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
cluny
5.0 out of 5 stars I thoroughly enjoyed this book
Reviewed in Canada on August 23, 2017
Verified Purchase
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have read all of this author's books and this is one of my favourites so far.
Report
DerRevisor
5.0 out of 5 stars Am besten gleich "All of a Winter's Night" für die Lektüre in einem Rutsch reservieren
Reviewed in Germany on January 13, 2017
Verified Purchase
Die Mordermittlungen, die Beschreibungen des ländlichen Herefordshires, die Ausflüge in die mystische Vergangenheit, die Einblicke in die Abgründe der Lokal-, Kirchen- oder Sicherheitspolitik - das bekommen Leser dieser Reihe auch in diesem Band wieder. Aber daneben wollen sie ja wie bei allen erfolgreichen Reihen vor allem auch wissen, wie es im Leben der Hauptfiguren weiter geht. Schließlich hat Rickman mit Ledwardine und der "Gemeinde" um Pfarrerin Merrily Watkins eine eigene kleine Welt geschaffen, in die der Leser immer wieder gerne reist - kein Problem, sind doch inzwischen immer mehr der malerischen Cottages des fiktiven Ortes Ferienhäuser. Und dort trifft der Leser auch wieder fast alle der fortlaufenden Haupt- und Nebenfiguren. Und sollte mal einer fehlen, wird er sicher im nächsten Band wieder auftauchen ... außer der ein oder andere Prota- oder Antagonist stirbt. Aber wer weiß selbst dann, ob das ein dauerhaftes Abtreten ist in einer Serie um eine Exorzistin. ;-)

Der paranormale Aspekt ist in diesem Band etwas in den Hintergrund getreten. Aber wie immer bietet der Autor mit umfassend recherchierten Themen Einblicke, die zum Weiterlesen und Entdecken anregen. Neben der Tradition der Moriskentänze sind das hier sicher auch die Geschichten um den "Grünen Mann" (Der "Green Man" spielt beispielsweise auch in Rickmans "Cold Calling" eine zentrale Rolle.) aber auch die faszinierende Kirche von Kilpeck, die in der Totale und mit Details der erwähnten Steinfiguren auch auf den Vorsatzseiten des Hardcovers abgedruckt ist.

Kleiner Tipp, um die Enttäuschung zu mildern, wenn man am Ende angelangt ist ... sich mit "Lols" Lied zur Winter-Sonnenwende noch einmal nach Ledwardine entführen lassen.
 Dance the Darkness Down

Ansonsten geht jetzt direkt das Warten auf den nächsten Band los!
One person found this helpful
 Report
Skylady
5.0 out of 5 stars A Merr(il)y dance - not for the faint hearted
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2017
Verified Purchase
The synopsis is there to see, and the reviews are plentiful, so I won't touch on the actual plot but instead give my impressions of the book as a whole.

'All Of A Winter's Night' is a joy for regular readers, bringing back as it does some much loved characters who have largely been absent for a book or two. It's also a terrific place for new readers to get into the Merrily Watkins series. Enough character background is given to make the new reader curious enough to check out the back catalogue (references to previous stories are tantalisingly inviting); such an investigation will certainly be rewarded. I have been 'in' since the beginning, even so I wanted to go right back to 'The Wine Of Angels' before I'd got even a few chapters into this story. That's skilful writing for you.

Something new and fresh, yet somehow comfortingly familiar, here; a harking back to the early Merrilys and even some of Mr Rickman's stand alone masterpieces - 'The Cold Calling' comes to mind. Here are the singularly British customs and folk mysteries that Phil is so good at tackling, richly evoked and described. And there's that unrivaled ability to portray the spirit of place, so it's not just the characters (which, as always, are well developed and so very real) but also the landscapes that are breathing, living entities.

The plot is slick, cunning, and mischievous, and there are the expected cliffhangers. Expected, but never predictable. I always find Rickman's work so very physical, so present and alive, and this book is a fine example of the author at his best. You might think you know what's going on, but you never do until the reveal. Like a good film, once you've reached the end of this tale you'll want to go back and start again, to see if you can spot the clues.

Genuine shocks, always masterfully pulled off and never crass. Phil Rickman does not fall back on the lazy devices employed by less skilful storytellers. That's what places his novels a cut above. Altogether a splendid story, one of his best in this reviewer's opinion. Go on, dance the darkness down - if you dare.
3 people found this helpful
 Report
Felicity A. Benton
5.0 out of 5 stars all merrily Watkins novels
Reviewed in Australia on May 8, 2018
Verified Purchase
One of my favorite authors, Phil Rickman's merrily watkins novels always deliver the ultimate in suspense. The storylines contain description of people, countryside and plot that keep me enthralled to the end. Well done Phil, PLEASE PLEASE don't keep me and all your other fans waiting much longer for your next Merrily Watkins novel!
Report
susan patenaude
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book.
Reviewed in Canada on May 9, 2017
Verified Purchase
Wonderful!!! Intriguing for the beginning til end. Loved it so much. Love Phil Rickman writing.So glad I discover him as an author.
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report