Scary it aint

The Conjurers – Marilyn Harris

The tiny English village of the Domehaven lies close to Stonehenge and there is a primal evil that lurks in the stones. A group of outsiders who are led by young American Tom Brude, who holds a special power over them as they try to harness the supernatural. It is Easter Mulraven, a maternal, middle-aged woman who cares for this group of youngsters. She finds herself caught between protecting the young people in her care and trying to keep the prejudice of the townspeople at bay.

That is what I think happens because I really did find this book to be confusing. Easter just seems to be there as a link to the community and a place for the young people to live. She spends most of her time in denial about the actions of the youngsters and lamenting the death of her father. Tom talks to Madame Blavatsky and exerts mind control over the group and Easter. The other characters have no real purpose but to be a contrast with young people versus old people, progress versus regression and the fear of change. Yet these themes that run through the book does not make a horror novel.

There is promise of horror, lots of people disappear, the group has members sacrificed and you have some locals who have lots of scary potential. Somehow these threads are never brought together to make this novel truly frightening.