The eleventh Merrily Watkins Mystery - The Secrets of Pain - from Phil Rickman, the bestselling author of The John Dee Papers.

With the framework of her own world beginning to crack, Merrily must venture into areas of mystery and menace; the secrets of the border's pagan past...

'Ancient history, violent deaths, feuds, intrigues and murder. A most original sleuth.' - The Times

'What I remember most was the sound of his breath. A hollow sound, as though he was drawing breath from somewhere else. Afterwards, he just said goodnight. I don't think he even remembered my name.'

Hereford is home to the elite warriors of the SAS. The place where their secrets are hidden . . . secrets that go well beyond pain and can wreck marriages and private lives. When Merrily Watkins loses a friend in the regiment, she's drawn into a place where no woman is welcome, to investigate profound mysteries linked to the area's brutal pagan past.

"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." - Guardian

"Wonderfully original." - Daily Telegraph

"Spine-tingling . . . this is Rickman at his very best. Makes the supernatural all too believable." - Daily Mail