Sentinels

Manochio (The Dark Servant) starts this predictable supernatural revenge tale with a bang, but it ends with a fizzle. The Civil War is over, but bigotry lives on. Wealthy white South Carolina landowner Thomas Diggs is happy to use deadly tactics (and a bumbling group of toughs) to force black freedman Toby Jenkins and his family to give up valuable land, but Toby refuses to back down. Soldiers protect Toby, Klansmen threaten them—and then vicious scythe- and ax-wielding killers start indiscriminately dispatching them all. Sheriff’s deputy Noah Chandler must find the source of the evil; eventually he seeks help from Toby, who seems to know more about the deaths than he should. Reconstruction-era South Carolina, with its lingering prejudice and violence, could be a perfect backdrop for horror, but this plodding story breaks no new ground, and it’s populated by underdeveloped characters. While Manochio’s writing is competent, there are no real surprises, and the awkward internal dialogue feels like filler. There’s a respectable body count, but readers who make it to the big final revelation likely won’t care. [em](Nov.) [/em]