The Elementals is a phenomenally stupid, occasionally enjoyable horror novel in which every twist made me wonder "But why?". Why is this novel set in the south? Why are there three beach houses in the middle of nowhere? Why do any of the characters keep any of the spooky events to themselves? Why is is the author seemingly obsessed with two adjectives (big and black)?

The scariest thing that happened was a door in a house closing. And that happened pretty early. The rest of the book is a run of the mill haunted house story where the only things that set it apart are either stupid or troubling. Sometimes the stupid things are fun. The dead being reanimated as strange sand creatures. The campy dialouge. The troubling parts all involve Odessa. The author leans hard on the magic negro trope to no particular purpose. It just feels lazy and dumb. The book is so absent-mindedly dumb that it's hard to get mad at it. The characters are all disposable and the plot is pretty thin. Other than a few strange horror twists, I don't know that there is much else here to discuss. If you're bored and like horror novels then I guess you could check it out. Otherwise, I'd give it a pass.