The Wine of Angels is part mystery, part thriller, part horror-fantasy, though this last element is ultimately the least significant. The story revolves around the Reverend Merrily Watkins, who moves to the village of Ledwardine, in Herefordshire, to assume the post of vicar at the local church.

Merrily is young and widowed with a teenage daughter in tow. There is friction in her relationship with Lucy Devenish, who runs the local craft shop and is somewhat pagan in her outlook. There is obvious tension between the long-standing local families, the Bull-Davies’ and the Powells, and the newcomers, affluent middle-class from out of the county. There is also the matter of a play, commissioned for the Ledwardine Festival, and featuring a 17th century vicar of Ledwardine, Wil Williams, who was accused of witchcraft and hanged himself to escape trial. The playwright has it that Wil was gay, provoking controversy that draws in Merrily, asked to allow the play’s performance in her church. She has to contend with the likes of traditionalist James Bull-Davies, used to getting his own way, and Lucy, who is determined that it must go ahead. Somehow, Merrily is the key to the deep-running tensions in the village.

The various strands weave neatly together and the atmosphere is well-maintained. Rickman effectively paints the landscape of Ledwardine, with its black and white houses and gentle hills, and the orchard like a living presence, all very picture-postcard. This feel, unfortunately, extends to some of the characters. The locals are and outsiders are stereotypical. These are minor points, however; the story unfolds at a measured pace, maintaining interest until events come to a head with more than a few shocks, the pace picking up to become almost a race to the finish. It is here that the novel loses itself somewhat. I feel Rickman started off with too many plot threads, some of which turn out to be dead ends. I had expected them to resolve themselves into the whole but they were either tied off too neatly or left dangling. Those that do make it to the end seem to revert to more conventional territory. The slightly pagan undercurrents are left behind in favour of a murder mystery and the big revelations about Wil Williams. This latter was something of a surprise, I must admit, but it also condemns The Wine of Angels to be a read-once book, much as seeing The Crying Game once forever spoils any future viewing. The trick is revealed and the show is over. That doesn’t stop it being diverting, well-written and well-paced; a real page-turner. Just don’t expect an enduring masterpiece.