Caught Napping?

'The Second Sleep' by Robert Harris (Hutchinson, 2019)

So, with the Coronavirus pandemic causing panic across the globe, what do I pick up from the TBR pile?  Something that provides comfort, relaxation and escapism perhaps?  No.  I pick Robert Harris' post-apocalyptic tale 'The Second Sleep'.  Obviously.

When Father Thomas Lacy dies unexpectedly, the young priest Christopher Fairfax is despatched to his remote parish to conduct the funeral.  Although Fairfax expects his work to be straightforward and his time in the insular Exmoor village to be brief, it's not long before he realises that Lacy was no ordinary parson and this will be no ordinary visit.  At first he ignores signs of Lacy's heresy - the library of forbidden books, the display case of ancient artifacts in plastic and metal - but it's not long before curiosity gets the better of him, and he finds himself exploring possibilities previously undreamt of.  Why is the area a hotspot for unearthing strange and mysterious historical objects?  Was Lacy's death really an accident?  And, above all, what is the secret of 'The Devil's Chair'?