British author Simon R. Green launches a Holy Terrors mystery series with the first book, The Holy Terrors. Expect a little humor, wordplay, the paranormal, and death with any new book by Green.

It’s an unusual group of six that gather at Stonehaven town hall, “the kind of place it wasn’t wise to turn your back on”. Alistair Kincaid, is the newly appointed bishop to All Souls Hollow, a tough neighborhood in London. Diana Hunt is a star of stage and screen who doesn’t have her pick of shows any longer. They’re joined by a professional comic, and a celebrity chef. Along with June Colby, the host and producer of “Spooky Times!”, and the show’s resident medium, the group is there for the filming of a reality show. They’ll all be locked in the hall overnight, and expected to overreact to anything that happens to them while locked in there.

But June hasn’t provided them with all of the background of the hall. They’re not all prepared for the strange sounds, and terrible conditions in the hall. Time and again, as the show’s “God-botherer”, Alistair finds himself acting as the voice of reason as others are angry or terrified. When the first death occurs, it’s obvious to Alistair that there is a murderer in their group.

Green has fun creating a terrifying atmosphere for a paranormal reality show, with all the expectations and the low caliber of celebrities involved. I guessed who the killer was quite early in the book, but it was fun to watch the bishop put everything together. And, the wordplay between him and the actress, Diana, was entertaining.

Without spoiling much, I can say Alistair Kincaid survives, probably to appear in the next book in the series. He’s another one of Green’s calm, intelligent heroes, one that will be fun to read about in the books that follow The Holy Terrors.

The Holy Terrors by Simon R. Green. Severn House, 2024. ISBN 9781448311637 (hardcover), 192p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley I received from the publisher through NetGalley.