The Smile of a Ghost cover art

The Smile of a Ghost

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

The Smile of a Ghost

By: Phil Rickman
Narrated by: Emma Powell
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £15.47

Buy Now for £15.47

In the affluent, historic town of Ludlow, a teenage boy dies in a fall from the castle ruins. Accident or suicide? No great mystery – so why does the boy's uncle, retired detective Andy Mumford, turn to Diocesan Exorcist Merrily Watkins?

More people will die before Merrily – her own future uncertain – uncovers a dangerous obsession with suicide, death and the afterlife hidden within these shadowed medieval streets.

©2005 Phil Rickman (P)2006 Isis Audio
Detective Horror Mystery Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Scary Fiction Paranormal
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

"Compassionate, original and sharply contemporary. Rickman's crime series is one of the best around." (The Spectator)

"Few writers blend the ancient and supernatural with the modern and criminal better than Rickman." (The Guardian)

All stars
Most relevant
I'm really enjoying working my way through this series, this is another fantastic addition. The performance loses stars because, although Emma Powell is a fantastic narrator for these books I find it frustrating that she's inconsistent with Merrily and Jane's accents.

Another great story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Emma Powell's portrayal of all the characters is so entertaining I could listen to her for hours. Brilliantly done! I'll be reading them all.

A very good read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I’m reading this series one by one. All excellent and different enough from each other to be intriguing but continuous enough to be heart warmingly familiar. Loved the way Ludlow was the star of this particular novel. I now feel I have to go there and explore. The plot had lots of amazing twists and turns. The narration is on the whole excellent. But I couldn’t understand why suddenly Lol and Jane acquired broad Herefordshire accents? It grated a bit hence the 3 stars.

Fantastic story as always

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.