The book I am currently reading is Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton. The blood harvest is an annual tradition that takes place in the late fall in the small farming village of Heptonclough England. For longer than anyone can remember, the weakest and otherwise excess population of farm animals have been culled out and taken to the village slaughterhouse.
During a celebration of another one of the villages traditions, two young children have wandered off and cannot be found. Word of Millie and Joe Fletchers disappearance spread quickly through the festival but the village elders appear to be more concerned for the safety of the little girl.
I'm beginning to suspect that the ghost child that little Joe Fletcher has been conversing with is not the evil participant here. This conclusion comes from a discussion Joe had on eve of the celebration with the girl, whom I am assuming is Hayley Royle. He told his brother that they are all in danger and do not belong here. 'They' are of course the Fletcher family and 'here' is the town of Heptonclough. But the question now is, who is she warning them of?
Hayley Royle is the child who had disappeared when her home had recently burned to the ground. Her body was never discovered and her mother, Gillian Royle still wanders the town and surrounding fields looking for her. This she does, long after everyone else has given up hope.
In the prologue we are told that the bodies of two children had been washed from a ten-year-old hillside grave site of another child. One of the corpses found was that of a small girl. I'm thinking it is Millie and the other is Joe. The bodies were found on a stormy, rainy night of November 3 and the story begins nine weeks earlier.
The town elders are beginning to show signs of weirdness. I mean the kind of weirdness that comes from people locked away in an isolated village from the rest of the world for just a little too long. The village traditions are adding to this feeling. Perhaps small girls are being sacrificed. The story has introduced boys about Tom's age but I have not read of any small girl children except Millie, who has just moved here and the two other girls who have recently dies or disappeared. I'm just saying, it is a bit odd.
On September 25 Gillian Royle tells Evi, her psychiatrist that she thinks the new vicar might have the hots for her. This through a surprise complication Evi’s way, because she would like to see her and Harry get together. Harry of course does not any idea that Gillian thinks this and does not indeed have any desire to get together with Gillian. He wants Evi.
Now Evi is convinced that she needs to stay away from Harry due to Gillian’s fragile state and because of her patient/doctor relationship it would probably unethical for the both of them to go after the same guy.
September 26 is the day of the celebration from which Joe and Millie disappear. After search parties are sent out into the night, Joe wanders up to Harry and Tom and tell them that Millie has entered the church. What they discover when they enter is pretty odd. Millie is sitting on a balcony railing way up too high for her to have been able to reach by herself.
I will continue the review after reading more if the book. Things are really beginning to get interesting.
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