Wow, what a dark and thrilling read! Haven't read anything by this author before, so I didn't know what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised. This dark and dangerous thriller was well-written, gripping until the end.
Recommended.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Bonnier Zaffre and Martyn Waites for the opportunity to read The Old Religion.
I loved reading this book. I was drawn in right from the start.
What a storyline! It was chilling and atmospheric with plenty of twists and intrigue. I devoured this book in one night.
Definitely well worth a read and I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Tom was looking for a quiet life. Working as a barman in the run-down Cornish village of St Petroc. He likes to keep himself to himself. He is shaken out of it when his coat goes missing containing all his identification documents. In trying to get them back he discovers that this sleepy village is far from what it seems.

This story had definite overtones of 'The Wicker man' in the atmosphere it creates. The story is fast paced and keeps the reader engaged. There were twists & surprises. All in all a good read.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Having discovered The Mercy Seat years ago, I was perhaps too excited to discover this
(And as a bookseller, why did I not know he was also Tania Carver)

Whizzed through this, real atmospheric page turner and we have a new hero in Tom for the future (I hope)

Love a bit of rural crime and really enjoyed the 'Wicker Man' feel.


A very decent wet afternoon read.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37822612-the-old-religion

The Old Religion is a thriller set in the fictional Cornish village St. Petroc. Tom Kilgallon (not his real name) is in hiding, working as a barman. Teenage runaway, Lila, was living in a surfing commune in the outskirts of the village. She has fallen foul of the commune leader and is back on the run again. She breaks into Toms house. The next time she runs, she takes Toms jacket with her. The jacket that hides his true identity.

Tom Kilgallon is an ex-undercover policeman. He is in the witness protection scheme. It seems nearly all the characters in this book have deep dark secrets. I thought the plot was a bit weak. I also could not believe an ex-policeman would leave material with his true identity in a jacket. Surely he would have more sense either to leave it behind at where he came from or at least have it locked away in some kind of strong box. I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it was not for me.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bonnier Zaffre and the author Martyn Waites for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm more a cozy mystery type of reader but once I started this book I couldn't put it down.
It has a dark atmosphere and a sense of danger that keep you reading to understanding what's coming.
I really like the main characters, with their secrets and emotional baggage, as well as the description of the places, and the twist and tricks of the plot.
i hope this is the first in a series and look forward to reading other books by this writer.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Bonnier Zaffre and Netgalley for this ARC

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bonnier Zaffre for an advance copy of The Old Religion, a thriller set in the fictional Cornish village of St Petroc.

Tom Kilgannon, not his real name, is hiding out in the Cornish village of St Petroc, whiling away his time as a barman. Lila is a teenage runaway, living in a surfing commune on the outskirts of the village but when she falls foul of the commune leader she runs again, breaking into Tom's house. When things get awkward at Tom's she runs but this time she is wearing his jacket, the jacket where he hides his identity.

I enjoyed The Old Religion which is an exciting thriller with some good twists, a hint of the occult and some seriously warped thinking and actions. It is told mostly from Tom and Lila's points of view with others added as and when required. Mostly it is well paced and intriguing, urging the reader to keep turning the pages but there were times when it didn't fully engage my attention. I find the constant switching of perspective distracting, just as it gets juicy the reader's attention is moved elsewhere. In some novels this approach whets the appetite, in this one it seems like an ideal time to take a break.

As the strange events of St Petroc slowly (to maintain the air of mystery) unfold it becomes apparent that plausibility is not high on the agenda, but it doesn't really matter as the novel is a thriller and has enough tension and action to overcome this. Mr Waites does a good job of building the atmosphere, culminating in a high octane showdown.

The characterisation is stronger than usual in a thriller but not all of it is convincing. Lila, in particular, seems overly mature and smart for a teenage runaway. Tom Kilgannon is an enigma. His background is explained at the end of the novel with tantalising hints dangled throughout the novel. I assume it is meant to be intriguing but I found it frustrating as some of his actions only become explicable in light of the explanation. My favourite character is the dying village of St Petroc, which has no tourist industry and is slowly fading, and it's solution to this situation.

The Old Religion is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

I was really looking forward to reading this as it has had some good reviews. I've also read Martyn Waites before the Joe Donovan novels which I really enjoyed. Tom Kilgallon is a loner working as a barman in the small Cornish village of St. Petroc, he is running from his past. A young woman on the run appears in his cottage and Tom finds himself dragged into the dark side of the village. Wickerman meets Jack Reacher.

More of a dark thriller than a crime novel. I really struggled with the plot and some of the characters. It is very cleverly written and well researched. Tom has a past which he is trying to hide, I can't say more for fear of spoiler. He meets Lila, a girl running away from a strange commune. There is plenty of intrigue in the story and tales of occult and religion but it just did not please me. Thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreadds and Facebook.

Martyn Waites aka Tania Carver, writes a atmospherically dark tale of horror set in St Petroc, Cornwall. It's a place that is facing economic ruin, a victim of Brexit, with nothing to save it, but for the fact that the local community en masse is clutching at straws in their desperate desire to secure funding for a Marina, and willing to embrace anything and anyone promising to deliver this. Even if it means murder. Tom Killgannon, a recent arrival to the area, is the barman at the local inn and hotel. He chose St. Petroc precisely because it is off the beaten track, attracting no tourists or other outsiders, a man who keeps himself to himself for good reason. He has acquired a new identity and relocated under the witness protection programme, he keeps his new passport and other identity items on his person at all times, hidden in his coat. A student, Kyle, has gone missing, attracting considerable media attention with his distraught parents making televised appeals for his return.

One night Tom returns home, to find a young woman, Lila, in a terrible state, has broken in seeking refuge. He helps her, and she tells him she is responsible for what happened to the missing Kyle. Lila runs away, taking his coat with her. Tom needs his documents back before they fall into the wrong hands and put him in danger. He knows the local surfing traveller community, under the leadership of Noah, is hunting for her and goes to them seeking information. Tom is in an ill advised sexual relationship with married local police officer, Rachel, acting as his handler. He begins to cotton on to the resurrection of paganism, the old religion, under the auspices of the frightening Morrigan Crow, whose tentacles spread far and wide and whom no-one dares disobey or confront. Anyone who challenges him have a tendency to mysteriously die. Morrigan and his acolytes are determined to get their hands on a outsider, and they have their eyes on Lila for a nefarious stone circle ritual, will Tom be able to save Lila?

This is a creepy and menacing story of a community willing to do anything to secure the long term future of St Petroc. Tom has little idea of what a hotbed of horror the place he has chosen to live in is and the dangers facing outsiders and those who do not agree with the prevalent thinking of the majority. Tom's past has put him under a lot of stress, and his inner guilt lessens when he sets out to help save Lila, who has suffered from rape and abuse, and is traumatised by what she has undergone. I understand this is the first of a series, and Tom Killgannon will return. This is a compelling, tense and suspenseful read of how things can get out of hand in small communities living under extreme pressure. Many thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for an ARC.

Tom Killgannon is something of a mystery at the start of this book. What we do know is that he is a barman in a small north coast Cornish town and it is out of season. It is clear that he is not just that from quite early on however what will that mean for some of the residents of St Petroc? A young student goes missing from a surfer community there and then Lila, also in that community, goes missing too. Are these events connected? And who or what is Morrigan?

It was a great start to this book for me. I found it so atmospheric, catching the out of season coastal town perfectly. I know places like that. While not overly descriptive I got a good feel of the place. For all the sometimes "normal" atmosphere there is always a darker undercurrent around. There may be those who won't like the "old religion" aspect of this book. I was perfectly happy with it. I guess I felt it was more ominous when it was not being talked about than when it came out into the open.

I found this a book that was far easier to keep reading than put down! There are good characters, the pace is good, it's dark and tense - what more can you want from a thriller type of story. There are twist and turns and things revealed and concealed. For me there is no doubt that Tom is the leading character here. As a foil Lila is good and brings extra to this story. Other characters also worked well and are more than up to the story. Very enjoyable read.