Review by Booklist Review
Pelayo's newest novel (after Lotería, 2023) meshes together dark fairy tales, history, mystery, psychological suspense, fantasy, and horror, creating a one-of-a-kind, unsettling story rooted in the Chicago River's often-tragic past. Forgotten Sisters revolves around the complicated relationship between two siblings encountering otherworldly, supernatural events while trapped in their seemingly picture-perfect riverside home, adding a gothic tone to the not-so-idyllic household. As Anna and Jennie struggle over lingering traumas and loneliness, local police are investigating a wave of drownings that somehow connect to the Arbor family and their piece of valuable real estate. Bram Stoker Award and International Latino Book Award winner Pelayo offers readers an almost lyrical experience that twists and turns until its unexpected end. The mesmerizing bits and pieces of bygone times add to the eerie tale, helping pace an otherwise heavy and dramatic narrative with a beautiful and haunting rendition of the Windy City and its infamous waterways. Fans who enjoyed Pelayo's previous horror mysteries will greatly appreciate her latest creation with its complex main characters and richly detailed setting.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Early in Pelayo's novel, Anna remarks to the listeners of her podcast (about the haunted history of Chicago) that all good ghost stories are based in fact. Anna knows this all too well, as she and her sister Jennie live alone in a meticulously maintained but clearly haunted historic home on the banks of the Chicago River--the same river that took the lives of their parents in a tragic accident and where the bodies of missing young men have been turning up with alarming frequency. It's also the river that has been her comfort since childhood, alongside her grandmother's copy of "The Little Mermaid" fairy tale. But as Anna struggles to watch after her sister and keep the house and its ghosts happy, detectives come knocking with questions. This compelling mystery within a unique haunted-house story is told in gorgeous prose, with sympathetic, complicated characters who feel as if they could materialize off the page. VERDICT Pelayo (The Shoemaker's Magician) has given readers another can't-miss novel, marked by its pervasive unease and riveting storyline. For fans of ghost stories that mine memory, fairy tales, and mystery, such as the works of Simone St. James, Jennifer McMahon, and Helen Oyeyemi.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The melancholy of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" frames an eerie story of two sisters living in solitude in a haunted family home. Anna Arbor and her older sister, Jennie, live in a historic bungalow on the Chicago River. The home was bequeathed to Anna by her grandparents, and she's responsible for taking care of it and of Jennie, who suffers from some supernatural illness that's also connected to the aging house and river. The tragic recent loss of Anna and Jennie's parents may be the reason that Anna can't get the world of the dead out of her mind. She decides to make a podcast exploring the forgotten dead and giving them recognition among the living. When her broadcasts attract a fan, Peter, Anna finds herself leaving Jennie to her long walks while she grows closer to Peter. But both Jennie and the house itself strenuously object to Anna doing anything independently, and Jennie's warnings to Anna about the recklessness of seeking intimacy with Peter echo the girls' childhood love of "The Little Mermaid." Is Peter dangerous to Anna, or is Jennie the one with something to hide? Meanwhile, two detectives are tasked with investigating a string of drownings in the river. It's clear that someone in the house must know how all these things are connected, but the truth may not rise to the surface fast enough to save Anna from danger. Spooky and sad with a constant sense of ambiguity at its core. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
