New Review: The Santon Sacrifices

The Santon Sacrifices

“An obsession with revenge that sees no compassion, only blood.”
Review by Lilah Shahkhor

“The Santon Sacrifices” is a nasty piece of work, and I mean that in the best of all possible ways. Like a convergence between a gothic horror novel, a historical mystery, and a true crime podcast, this story details the exploits of a serial killer run rampant upon an unsuspecting French village during the Belle Époque of the late 19th century. Occurring in the dead of winter shortly before Christmas as the town of Lambesc is getting ready for its annual holiday celebrations, the first sign that something has gone terribly wrong is when one of the church’s santon figurines is discovered missing. What follows as the townspeople try to discover what happened to the vanished statue is a dark descent into depravity and death.

I was unfamiliar with the custom of santons before reading this book, which does an excellent job at introducing this fascinating folk art tradition. Originating in Provence during the French Revolution, santons are handmade clay figurines which depict the Nativity scene as well tradespeople. So, along with the Baby Jesus and Mother Mary, a typical santon display may also include statues of a fish monger, baker, cheese maker, potter, woodsman, blacksmith, etc. When the villagers notice that the santon representing the local hunter is gone, then shortly after find his corpse laid out in a gruesome display among his own butchering tools, it’s just the first in a string of murders most foul yet to come. Soon enough, the body count starts to rise, with each crime more horrifying than the one before. With the discovery of each new victim, a pattern starts to emerge, revealing a killer that is elaborate and meticulous, as well as truly twisted. We can’t help but notice that these slayings take on an almost ritual quality, they begin to look less random and more like deliberate sacrifices. But to who … and why?

For the answer to that, the author dives deep into the folklore and political past of the era, ultimately revealing a criminal mind driven by a sick and corrupted religious fervor that borders on the satanic, and an obsession with revenge that sees no compassion, only blood.

Consider this a warning; “The Santon Sacrifices” is not for the faint of heart. The book is filled with gore and wickedness. Like a cross between Clive Barker, H.P. Lovecraft, and James Ellroy, it delights in creating awful scenes of unspeakable violence against a backdrop of quaint domesticity and piety, peppered with clever investigative and police work, as those affected attempt to make sense of the unimaginable. If you enjoy procedurals, crime fiction, mean and dirty horror, and learning about strange mythos and superstitions, this book expertly weaves all of those genres together into a story that will keep you up at night, and scare you well into the broad daylight.

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