Sanctuary is one of those books that reads like an American television drama. Set in small-town America, it suggests that below the seemingly idyll surface something else is at work.
It begins with a tragedy. In the small town of Sanctuary, there is a house fire at a frat party where local college football star Daniel Whitman is killed. At first it seems like an unfortunate accident. The local police seem to want to clear the case and move on, but when external investigator police officer Maggie Knight is brought in to review things as a courtesy, there seems to be more to the incident than at first suspected.
Rumours start to circulate that what was going on at the party was more than your usual teenage gathering of drink and drugs. There’s rumours of a sex-tape being shown that involves Daniel’s ex-girlfriend Harper. Harper tells the town that Daniel was far from being the golden boy everybody thought he was and that the sex-tape was actually Daniel raping her, but is this true? Or is there more to this than first appears? The accusations fly and a trial ends up being national news.
Stories of dark things lurking below a seemingly idyll surface in society go way back – From Peyton Place in the 1950’s and Fritz Leiber’s Conjure Wife in the 1940s (a retro-Hugo nominee last year and reviewed by me HERE) for those wanting a more genre take, not to mention Donna Tartt’s The Secret History (1992) and books/movies such as The Stepford Wives and even The Witches of Eastwick, there’s something delightfully gossipy that readers like about a secret society below the outward patina of normality.
Although things read at first like an Americana version of a Stephen King novel, it’s not long before things start to appear different from the normal. This is a world which seems contemporary but where witches and witchcraft have been normalised into society, albeit with strict rules. One of the interesting complications here is that if witchcraft has been used in the murder, then arcane laws make it one of the few crimes still possibly punishable by death.
Ultimately although the book’s main plot is that of the murder mystery, its strength is in the quality of the characterisation, not the youngsters possibly involved in the crime but actually the relationship between their parents. Sarah Fenn is the town witch, a role accepted as fine in this alternate America. Every reasonable town has one, supporting the community network in providing advice and dealing with minor ailments. She also happens to be Harper’s mother and someone who may therefore do anything to defend her daughter. Around her are three non-magic friends making up the coven (part of the rules for legalised witches.) Abigail is Daniel’s mother, understandably distraught by her son’s death. There’s also Julia Garcia whose daughter Beatriz was a witness to Daniel’s death. Lastly, Bridget is perhaps Sarah’s best friend and therefore always seems to have Sarah’s back.
You may notice how little men are involved in this set-up. Generally, they appear of minor concern to the plot and mainly seem to be disinterested, self-absorbed womanizers or ones with personal issues, but propped up and kept in social standing by their partner’s work with Sarah. Daniel’s Dad, Michael, appears disinterested and tied up in his work as a Yale medical professor, Cheryl is Bridget’s partner who mistrusts magic and as principal of the local high school has the wellbeing of the traumatised high school students to deal with. Alberto Garcia, the husband of Julia, is a philanderer. Julia’s closest male friend, and ex of Bridget’s, is Pierre Martinez who now has a daughter named Isobel and is perhaps the most reasonable male in the book.
The book also deals with bigger concerns, of course. By showing how this seemingly simple tragedy escalates into something more, Sanctuary is also a clever criticism of how rumour and distrust can undermine people’s good work, of how communities can be a force for good but also for bad, and how media and the force of public opinion can change things in a small community so quickly. As a social mirror, what does this novel say about our society? Despite appearances in the quaint town of Sanctuary, it’s quite unsettling how minor grievances can become national issues due to covert mistrust and propaganda-style pageantries.
In short, this one reads like an episode of Charmed with touches of Haven and even the series Revenge mixed in. It’s engaging, entertaining and relentless, deceptively luring you in with its short chapters and readable style. Readers should know that things are not always what they appear to be, and that there are reveals along the way that are unexpected, but then (ironically) that’s what readers should expect. However, the much-vaunted ‘twist in the tale’ that is de rigeur for such stories was a little far-fetched for me, though logical. (I’ve clearly read too much of this sort of thing.)
But that is a minor detail. Many readers will know what to expect here – it is how we get to the end that is the interesting part. Sanctuary’s a great page-turner and would be one of my usual suggestions for a great beach read this summer – or, as things are at the moment, a great read to wallow in whilst in lockdown. I blew through this one myself in a couple of days.
Sanctuary by V. V. James
Published by Gollancz, April 2020
454 pages
ISBN: 1475225749
Review by Mark Yon
