In her latest novel “Vanishing Daughters,” Bram Stoker Award-winning author Cynthia Pelayo weaves a mesmerizing tale that blurs the boundaries between fairy tales, urban legends, and real-world horrors. Following the success of her Chicago-set novels “Children of Chicago” and “Forgotten Sisters,” Pelayo returns to the Windy City’s haunted landscape with a story that feels both timeless and urgently contemporary.
The novel follows Briar Rose Thorne, a science journalist whose rational worldview begins to crumble after her mother’s death. As she grieves in her family’s aging Victorian mansion, Briar experiences increasing supernatural phenomena—phantom music, strange visions, and dreams of a young woman in white begging to be brought home. Meanwhile, a serial killer known as the Chicago Strangler has claimed the lives of fifty-one women, and Briar soon discovers unsettling connections between these murders, her family history, and Chicago’s most famous ghost story.
Masterful Blending of Myth and Reality
Pelayo’s greatest strength lies in her ability to seamlessly intertwine multiple narrative elements:
- Chicago’s Rich Folklore – The author demonstrates impressive knowledge of local ghost stories, particularly the legend of Resurrection Mary, which serves as the novel’s supernatural backbone
- Fairy Tale Foundations – The book cleverly repurposes “Sleeping Beauty” elements, from the spinning spindle to the concept of enchanted sleep
- True Crime – Pelayo incorporates real details about Chicago’s dark history, including references to H.H. Holmes and historical crime statistics
- Personal Grief – Briar’s mourning process forms an emotional core that grounds the supernatural elements
The way these threads intertwine creates a tapestry that feels both mythical and authentic. When Briar visits places like Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery or Red Gate Woods (site of a buried nuclear reactor), Pelayo’s descriptions bring these real Chicago locations to vivid, unsettling life.
Atmosphere That Lingers Like Morning Fog
The novel’s atmosphere deserves special mention. Pelayo creates a dreamlike quality through her prose that mirrors Briar’s increasingly untethered experience:
“There’s a delicate scent of rose lingering in the air. Very often with these aging historic homes, there’s a familiar smell that hangs in the air.”
This attention to sensory detail—the smell of roses, the sound of old radios switching on, the chill of Chicago winter—creates an immersive reading experience. The haunted house itself becomes a character, with its mysterious radios, rose gardens, and hidden histories. The distinction between waking life and dreams gradually dissolves, pulling readers into the same disorienting experience as the protagonist.
Strengths and Shortcomings
What Works Brilliantly
- Local Color – Pelayo’s Chicago is rendered with the intimate knowledge of a lifelong resident. From the Midway Plaisance to specific cemeteries along Archer Avenue, the setting feels authentic and richly realized.
- Feminine Horror – The book explores the vulnerability of women in public spaces through both supernatural and all-too-real threats. The Chicago Strangler represents the genuine dangers women face, while the supernatural elements provide a metaphorical framework.
- Family Legacy – The generational aspects of the story, with curses and protections passing through maternal lines, creates a compelling mythology.
- Meditation on Grief – Briar’s processing of her mother’s death provides emotional depth beyond typical horror fare.
Where It Falls Short
- Pacing Issues – The middle section sometimes meanders, with repetitive dream sequences and internal monologues that could have been tightened.
- Character Development – While Briar is well-drawn, secondary characters like Emily and Daniel remain somewhat underdeveloped, primarily serving as sounding boards for the protagonist.
- Plot Complexity – The multiple storylines (serial killer, family curse, ghost legend, meditation techniques) occasionally create confusion rather than complexity, especially in the final act.
- Dialogue – Some conversations, particularly the philosophical discussions about consciousness, can feel somewhat didactic rather than natural.
Thematic Resonance: More Than Just Scares
What elevates “Vanishing Daughters” above standard horror fare is its thoughtful engagement with substantive themes:
- The persistence of trauma, both personal and collective, echoes throughout the narrative. Just as Briar’s grief distorts her perception, Chicago’s violent history continues to haunt its present.
- The power of stories becomes a central motif. Urban legends aren’t merely entertainment but serve as warnings and vessels for truth. As Briar reflects:
“Why do we fear the ghosts of women who were murdered? Why don’t we fear the thing that made them what they are?”
This question resonates beyond the supernatural context, asking readers to consider how we mythologize female victims while forgetting the systems that endangered them.
- The thin places between worlds—consciousness states, the living and dead, past and present—provide a fascinating framework for the novel’s exploration of reality itself.
Technical Craft: Style and Structure
Pelayo employs a shifting narrative structure that contributes to the dreamlike quality. While primarily focused on Briar’s perspective, we occasionally glimpse the killer’s disturbing viewpoint. These sections are particularly chilling, written with clinical detachment that makes the horror more pronounced:
“I am looking for those mythmakers. I am looking for those beautiful women who sleep, who drift, who dream, and they will be mine forever.”
The prose style shifts effectively between lyrical description, psychological introspection, and more straightforward narrative. This variability mirrors Briar’s unstable mental state, though occasionally the shifts can feel abrupt.
Comparative Context
Fans of Pelayo’s previous works will recognize her signature blend of folklore, true crime, and supernatural horror. “Vanishing Daughters” builds on themes from “Children of Chicago” but creates a more intimate, character-driven narrative.
The novel bears comparison to other contemporary works that blend urban legends with psychological horror, including:
- Carmen Maria Machado’s “Her Body and Other Parties”
- Stephen Graham Jones’ “The Only Good Indians”
- Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s “Mexican Gothic“
However, Pelayo’s deep integration of specific regional folklore distinguishes her work, creating a uniquely Chicagoan horror experience.
Final Assessment
“Vanishing Daughters” is an ambitious novel that largely succeeds in its goals. Pelayo has crafted a story that functions simultaneously as a ghost story, serial killer thriller, fairy tale retelling, and meditation on grief. While some elements could be more tightly executed, the overall impact is powerful and lingering.
The novel’s exploration of how we process trauma—both personal and cultural—resonates well beyond its supernatural elements. By connecting Chicago’s ghost stories to contemporary violence against women, Pelayo creates a narrative that feels urgent despite its folkloric foundations.
For readers seeking atmospheric horror with intellectual and emotional depth, “Vanishing Daughters” delivers a compelling experience that will have you thinking twice when driving down Archer Avenue after dark—and perhaps looking more closely at the women who walk alone on city streets, both living and spectral.
- Strengths: Atmospheric setting, innovative blend of folklore and modern horror, thematic depth
- Weaknesses: Occasional pacing issues, some underdeveloped secondary characters
Vanishing Daughters confirms Cynthia Pelayo’s status as one of the most original voices in contemporary horror, using Chicago’s haunted landscape to explore how ghosts—both literal and metaphorical—continue to shape our present.
Reader’s Guide: Who Should Read This Book?
This novel will particularly appeal to:
- Horror fans who appreciate psychological depth over gore
- Readers interested in urban legends and folklore
- Chicago natives or those familiar with the city’s ghostlore
- Fans of female-centered horror with strong thematic elements
- Readers who enjoyed Pelayo’s previous works or authors like Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Carmen Maria Machado
If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller without supernatural elements, this may not be your ideal read. But for those willing to surrender to its dreamlike rhythm and blurred realities, “Vanishing Daughters” offers a uniquely haunting experience that will linger long after the final page.
