Briar Rose Thorne is grieving her late mother Aurora, back in her childhood home on Chicago’s South Side. In the days since her mother’s passing, she’s been having strange, vivid dreams about a girl in white asking for someone to take her home. She also hears phantom music throughout the house, along with other strange occurrences. She dismisses these moments as bouts of grief. But memories of her mother indicate the disturbances might be spirits or ghosts trying to communicate with Briar. There’s also a serial killer taking lives of young women. Once Briar begins researching the murders, she starts to connect the dots to her own family history. Vanishing Daughters by Cynthia Pelayo is a gothic fiction novel in which Briar must put a stop to the ongoing tragedies, or else she might become the next victim.
Book
Briar is someone of an unreliable narrator from the beginning. She is grieving hard and cannot distinguish between dreams and reality. She’s also avoiding certain areas in the house, not ready to explore places or items that might make things harder for her. On the other hand, the serial killer is still hunting victims. And it becomes clear to readers that Briar is his top priority.
Briar meets Isaac, a professor at the nearby university. He helps her make sense of these strange occurrences, indicating they likely hold clues about the past. And how she might be the only one who can learn the truth, put spirits to rest, and stop a killer.
Review
Pelayo sets the tone and proves her talent for eerie yet thought-provoking storytelling with Vanishing Daughters. Briar’s current narrative includes flashbacks with her mother and how it connects to her current state of mind. Yet the storyline was easy to follow, given the slower pace. Readers also get the serial killer’s POV, where we get more insight into his background and motivations.
The author also weaves in real Chicago history, scientific theories, and inexplicable phenomena to offer a sophisticated exploration of grief and loss. Paralleled with ongoing violence against women and the media’s coverage of cold cases, Vanishing Daughters is a noteworthy addition to your reading list.
Cynthia Pelayo joins the Cantina Book Club Podcast to talk about how writing this book helped her navigate her own family loss and grief. We also find out what she’s working on next. Keep an ear out for the interview and pick up a copy of Vanishing Daughters, available March 11.
