Phil Rickman writes women very well. Merrily is such a wonderfully drawn character, but she isn’t the only well written woman in the book. Rickman writes women as people, and, correctly, does not have them think or describe the women in terms of their boobs. Rickman is also aware of how differently society would see a woman in a situation as opposed to a man. This is used wonderfully as Merrily’s backstory makes it to social media. Merrily’s reaction to the problem is one that most women would have, as opposed to one that some men would think women have.
So Merrily (who I keep seeing as Dawn French) has to deal with witches and weirdo Christians and a Jerry Springer type show. It is a really good book about faith and belief. Betty has it right – faith and religion are completely different. The question of faith is one that both Betty and Merrily are struggling with – in different ways.
I also really like Betty and Robin’s relationship in this book. In part, because Robin, while not prefect, really loves and cares for Betty. It’s like Terry in The Detectorists when he is asked if the Lindy Hop is more important than protecting a site, and he says no, but Shelia (his wife) is. You melt and will forgive him pretty much anything. But even more than that, Robin is aware of his limitations and faults, perhaps not in the instance, but he is self-aware.
Of course, the core relationship beside Merrily and her faith, is that between Merry and Jane. With Jane, Rickman has created a teen girl who is not annoying.
The mystery is pretty good and ties into domestic abuse issues, which was a good touch.
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