Phil Rickman Books in Order
30 books are credited to Phil Rickman, published between 1991 and 2026; 1 of them appeared after Phil Rickman's death in 2024. The first book is Candlenight (1991) and the newest is The Echo of Crows (2026). Publication order is the reading order below. 17 of the 30 books listed here are in the Merrily Watkins series, which has its own page: Merrily Watkins books in order.
- Books
- 30
- Published
- 1991–2026
- Confirmed
- 30 of 30 titles
- Pages on record
- 11,705 in 23 of 30 books
- Reading time
- 195–293 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 11,705 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 23 of 30 titles with a page count on record.
Phil Rickman wrote supernatural and mystery novels, publishing under the pen names Will Kingdom and Thom Madley as well as his own. Merrily Watkins, a woman priest in England, is the recurring figure, and exorcism, ghosts and the occult run through those books. 30 catalogued titles span Candlenight (1991) to The Echo of Crows (2026), among them The Wine of Angels (1998), Midwinter of the Spirit (1999) and A Crown of Lights (2001). The John Dee Papers and the Grayle Underhill and Bobby Maiden novels sit alongside. Rickman, born in 1950, died in 2024.
How many Phil Rickman books are there?
Phil Rickman has 30 books, released between 1991 and 2026. 1 of them were published after Phil Rickman's death in 2024. They include 5 separate series.
Phil Rickman Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 30 Phil Rickman books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119914633/4
- 219936253/4
- 319946883/4
- 419946083/4
- 5The Cold CallingGrayle Underhill & Bobby Maiden Series as Will Kingdom #11996 · 493 pages · confirmed 3/419964933/4
- 619975283/4
- 71998–3/4
- 819995393/4
- 9Mean SpiritGrayle Underhill & Bobby Maiden Series as Will Kingdom #22001 · 576 pages · confirmed 3/420015763/4
- 1020015663/4
- 1120015463/4
- 1220035633/4
- 1320046303/4
- 142005–3/4
- 1520064253/4
- 1620065123/4
- 1720074293/4
- 1820075443/4
- 192008–3/4
- 202009–3/4
- 2120104403/4
- 2220115783/4
- 232012–3/4
- 2420134643/4
- 2520145283/4
- 2620141923/4
- 2720153843/4
- 2820173843/4
- 292019–3/4
- 302026–3/4
Phil Rickman series and characters in order
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Merrily Watkins books in order 18 books
Phil Rickman books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.
Merrily Watkins books in order
17 books by Phil Rickman- 1. The Wine of Angels
- 2. Midwinter of the Spirit
- 3. A Crown of Lights
- 4. The Cure of Souls
- 5. The Lamp of the Wicked
- 6. The Prayer of the Night Shepherd
- 7. The Smile of a Ghost
- 8. The Remains of an Altar
- 9. The Fabric of Sin
- 10. To Dream of the Dead
- 11. The Secrets of Pain
- 12. The Magus of Hay
- and 5 more in the table above
Phil Rickman Standalone Novels
6 books6 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Grayle Underhill & Bobby Maiden Series as Will Kingdom in order
2 booksMarco Series as Thom Madley in order
2 booksJohn Dee Papers in order
2 booksMerrily Watkins Companion in order
1 bookDo you have to read Phil Rickman books in order?
You only need to read Phil Rickman books in order within each series: the books listed here span 5 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Phil Rickman
Start with The Wine of Angels (1998), the first Merrily Watkins book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Candlenight (1991).
What is the newest Phil Rickman book?
The Echo of Crows (2026) is the newest Phil Rickman book released so far.
Is there a new Phil Rickman book coming?
No next Phil Rickman book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Phil Rickman at a glance
- Died
- Phil Rickman died in 2024, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Phil Rickman are still being published after Phil Rickman's death in 2024; the newest appeared in 2026.
- Release pace
- Phil Rickman books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 11,705 pages across the 23 of 30 books with a recorded length, a median of 528 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Phil Rickman books, 12 of 30, were published in the 2000s.
What the Phil Rickman books are about
25 of the 30 Phil Rickman books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: clergy is tagged on 10 of 25. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Clergy 10 of 25 books
- England 10 of 25 books
- Women clergy 10 of 25 books
- Watkins, merrily (fictitious character) 9 of 25 books
- Merrily Watkins (Fictitious character) 8 of 25 books
- Mystery & detective 8 of 25 books
- Exorcism 7 of 25 books
- Horror 6 of 25 books
- Crime 5 of 25 books
- Ghosts 5 of 25 books
- Mystery & detective, women sleuths 4 of 25 books
- Supernatural 4 of 25 books