Saint Delilah, Isabelle Spotts (Review by Abigail Blake)
Saint Delilah is part thriller, part haunting horror show, part murder-for-hire, and part star-crossed lovers. There’s a lot going on in the small midwestern town of West Salle. A former cult encampment surrounding a vision of the Virgin Mary, the town still draws in folks looking for a miracle and contains a cast of characters with unique talents, obsessions, viewpoints—you name it. The local medium, Magda, balances the secrets of living and dead while also operating her combination strip club/folksy motel/cabin lodgings all on the same property. Magda fiercely protects her girls as best she can, and uses all means imaginable to seek vengeance when one of her girls winds up tragically murdered.
Enter the novel’s namesake: Delilah. Delilah’s body is found the morning after he murder, but her souls remains stuck due to the unjust violence of her death. She can only cross over to the other side if her killer is killed, and she’s working against the clock. This town is also home to evil phantoms that prey on tragedies like hers. If they get to Delilah before her killer’s demise, she’ll transform into a rage-fueled poltergeist hell-bent on terrorizing anyone who disturbs her final resting place.
To prevent this, Magda goes to extreme lengths to ensure justice is served, but she doesn’t account for the relationship that blooms between her would-be-hitman/ghost whisperer and Delilah.
In the quest to save Delilah, the story delves into such themes as purity, possession, and the age-old question of why women end up dead at the hands of men. The male characters all struggle to differentiate between love and lust, guilt, obsession, ownership—all the while continually robbing Delilah, and several other female characters, of their autonomy in both body and soul.
As stated, the story has a lot going on, but tackles some really intricate themes in a unique way. Most every character contains complexities that make them both good and bad, but their fates hinge on their choices. Even revenge is justified if the instigating choice is cruel enough.