The Prayer of the Night Shepherd — Phil Rickman

A crumbling hotel on the border of England and Wales, a suggestion of inherited evil, a mystifying love affair ... and the long-disputed origins of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles. It's all endlessly fascinating for young Jane Watkins, flushed by the freedom of her first weekend job. But the sinister side becomes increasingly apparent to Jane's mother, Merrily, diocesan exorcist for Hereford. And the snow is coming. And a killing.

Altogether the most original and atmospheric crime novel you'll read this year.