Sanctuary

I thought this book by V.V. James was really well-done, keeping me up late into the morning hours to finish. The small Connecticut town of Sanctuary got it's name when the local populace successfully drove all the witches out at the height of the mass hysteria about witches in the late 17th and early 18th century. But in this book, in more modern times, witches are licensed and more or less accepted and many in the town's population have taken advantage of Sarah Fenn's magic--their resident witch. Sarah's daughter, Harper, is 17 and graduating from high school. Sarah was devastated when she learned, on Harper's 13th birthday, that she did not have the "gift."

At the high school graduation party in a rented house, Daniel Whitman, the school's promising quarter back, falls from the 2nd floor landing and the house catches fire. Student flee the burning building and Daniel is left behind. His mother goes mad with grief and then rage. A detective from the state polic, Maggie Knight, who was assigned to this town once before in years past, is brought in for the investigation and, initially, everyone thinks this is a tragic accident. But then Jake, Dan's sycophantic friend and also the son of Sanctuary's chief of police, shows his father a video clip and swears that ex-girlfriend Harper killed Dan with magic. Everyone swears Harper has no magic abilities, but Harper has made herself scarce in town--understandably--so Maggie tries to keep the lid on emotions in town until more evidence is obtained. She brings in a witch investigator who verifies that magic was used. Sarah is the only registered witch in town and she swears her daughter has no power and, she was at a dinner party with her three closest friends, who include Dan's mother, at the time the fall and fire happened. But the witch hunt is on and people who have relied on Sarah begin to turn on her and she is no longer safe in Sanctuary.

The ending was not at all what I expected. Publishers Weekly gave the book a glowing review, calling it a "riveting mystery," and concluding that author James' "Assured prose and a tight plot lift this tale ...[and]  is off to a fine start."

Here is an interview with author Vic James about the writing of Sanctuary and the TV series that was made from it.

 

The Madness of Crowds

This is the 17th installment in Louise Penny's  "Inspector Gamache" series. The topic is extremely timely as it addresses how a charismatic speaker can interpret actual (or alternate) facts and convince millions of people to not only believe what they're told but also act on it--even when the actions are legally or morally indefensible. The rights of the most vulnerable members of society and the aftermath of the pandemic are themes that run throughout the story as well. Gamache, as further punishment from the head of homicide at the Surete, is asked to provide security for a university professor of statistics coming to a small local university to give a talk; given that it's the holidays, it seems unlikely that anyone will turn out. When Gamache researches Dr. Abigail Robinson, however, he finds her topic so repulsive that he begs the local university to cancel the event. Dr. Robinson has concluded from her data during the pandemic that we cannot survive unless we eliminate all the non-productive people in our society--the old, the sick, the disabled. Given that Gamache has a granddaughter with Down's syndrome, this is a very personal issue. Dr. Robinson's controversial conclusions have attracted millions of followers and opposition; violence has often accompanied her public appearances. Sure enough, in spite of extensive precautions, someone shoots at Robinson during he talk and she is only saved by Gamache's fast action. Now Gamache's team must investigate an attempted murder. What complicates things further is that, on New Year's Eve, when the village of Three Pines is gathered to celebrate, a successful murder spoils the festivities. However, it is not Robinson who is killed, but rather her loyal friend and assistant. Was she killed by mistake or was she actually the intended victim. As usual, past events and their effects on the human psyche, even years later, become the focus of the investigation. And everyone seems to be hiding big secrets, even people Gamache has known for years. 

Kirkus concludes their review by saying "No one balances tight plotting, compassion for her flawed characters, and a broader vision of humanity like Penny." Similarly, Publishers Weekly offers "Seamlessly integrating debates about scientific experimentation and morality into a fair-play puzzle, Penny excels at placing her characters in challenging ethical quandaries. This author just goes from strength to strength." The New York Journal of Books goes even further: "High emotion is balanced by high intellect and a high level of craft, revealing an author at the top of her game. Don’t be surprised if she receives an award for this one."

We Ride Upon Sticks

This is, I suppose, technically a young adult novel since all the main characters are 17-18 year old seniors at Danvers High School in the year 1989; nevertheless, I enjoyed it immensely, occasionally laughing out loud and once being moved to tears. Our protagonists are the high school field hockey team, the Danvers Falcons, composed of 10 women and 1 man:  Mel Boucher, Sue Yoon, Heather Houston, Julie Kaling, Little Smitty, Becca Bjelica, Boy Cory, Girl Cory (no relation to Boy Cory), Jen Fiorenza, AJ Johnson, and Abby Putnam. You will get to know them all as the book progresses. None of the athletic teams at Danvers HS have won much over the decades, but the field hockey team comes to believe that the dark forces possibly passed down by their witchy forebears, and currently epitomized by the smiling face of Emilio Estevez on the cover of Mel's notebook, may help them win.  After a totally demoralizing defeat at summer hockey camp, Mel is the first to scribble a dark pledge into her notebook, but when the very next day the Falcons tie with a powerhouse competitor, the rest of the team begins to fall in line. They will just need to do a few things differently than normal. The humor is, at times, adolescent, but was just what I needed at this point in time. For example, one of the "bad" things they did to placate the dark forces was to leave an open can of sardines hidden in the teachers' lounge. This is a coming of age book, a book about figuring out how to be your true self, and a paean to friendship, teamwork, and faith in one another. The culture of the 80's is richly woven throughout the story, and there is a fair amount of history about the Salem witch trials sprinkled in, which the author claims is largely accurate. Highly recommended.
Reviews from NPR, and Publishers Weekly.
Barry also gives an interview to the Paris Review about her choice of setting and subject.