Combine a small-town suburban American drama with a crime thriller and add in a dash of magic, and you’ll get somewhere near the sort of territory V.V. James’ Sanctuary occupies – a gripping page-turner exploring how grief and pain can tear friendships and communities apart. The quiet town of Sanctuary hides a darkness beneath its calm facade, and tensions which come to light after the tragic death of a popular young man. As a mother grieves and an out-of-town detective investigates what happened, rumours start to swirl that magic was involved and bitter eyes turn to the town’s resident witch.
The story revolves around the four women of Sanctuary’s coven and their children, who between them form a tangle of friendships, rivalries and complex history. James spins a pacy, gripping narrative with short chapters rotating through three main viewpoints – caring and trusting witch Sarah, who desperately wants to be the glue that binds people together; Abigail, grieving mother whose world has collapsed around her; and detective Maggie Knight, who provides an external viewpoint as she comes to realise that Daniel Whitman’s death was more than just a tragic accident. As the prospect arises of magic being involved, Sarah’s role as Sanctuary’s witch becomes the pivot around which friendships, suspicions, and tensions turn as the coven, their children and various other members of the community struggle to understand what’s happening.
Magic, in this context, is simply an accepted – if not entirely trusted – part of the world, a believable blend of natural science and ritual belief. It’s a quiet, subtle art founded upon consent, choice, rules and consequences, but its presence is felt as much in the prejudices and legal constraints that Sarah faces as the tangible evidence of its use; substitute the practice of magic for any other variety of discrimination (of which several are present anyway) and the story still mostly holds up. Magic aside, though, it’s the personal, family and friendship drama which really roots the story – there’s a history here that’s evident from the off but only slowly revealed and fully contextualised, allowing James to explore the effects of trauma on regular people and how it manifests in lies, hypocrisy, cruelty and (understandable) delusions.
The quick chapters and multiple viewpoints give proceedings the pace and sensibilities of a crime thriller, keeping the pages turning as layers of secrecy are stripped away. It can be a little tricky to get a handle on characters at first, but keep at it and an intriguing – if darkly damning – picture gradually builds up of a close-knit community that’s credibly complex and powerfully human. With the exception of Knight, pretty much all of the characters can be tough to like at times, but even at their worst they’re still compelling – their behaviour may be appalling, but under the circumstances it’s entirely believable. All told, with relatable characters, intriguing magic and a smart plot exploring much more than just the surface consequences of a tragic death, it’s the sort of book that hooks you in and won’t let go – highly recommended.
Many thanks to Gollancz and V.V. James for a review copy in exchange for this honest review.
Click this link to buy Sanctuary (or this one for the audiobook edition)