The Fever of the World

The River Wye, according to local folklore, takes a life every year. But in the lower Wye Valley something truly evil is stirring and the locals can sense it. TV star Arlo Ripley seeks solace in a church at the water's edge. But a famous face always attracts attention, and if he thinks he can hide his failings, he couldn't be more wrong. Up river, an ambitious writer thinks she's uncovering Wordsworth's stranger secrets while an urban career-criminal, newly out of prison, assures a skeptical DI Frannie Bliss that he's left his old life behind to find an unlikely pastoral peace. Enter diocesan exorcist Merrily Watkins. As she wades into the murky depths, Merrily discovers that the darkest and most disturbing evil doesn't always involve murder.