What I'm Reading: March 2025 issue of Booklist

I have 2 reviews in the March 2025 issue of Booklist. The first book is excellent; just shy of a star. The second is a debut worth ordering.

As usual, the post here has my draft reviews, three words, further appeal commentary, and extra readalikes.

Enjoy.

Vanishing Daughters
by Cynthia Pelayo

Mar. 2025. 354p. Amazon/Thomas & Mercer, paper, $16.99

(9781662513930); e-book (9781662513923). 
First published March 1, 2025 (Booklist).

Pelayo (Forgotten Sisters) is back with another supernatural thriller, steeped in its place (Chicago), and framed by a fairytale (Sleeping Beauty). Briar Rose (Bri) is consumed by grief after the passing of her beloved mother who understood “the thin places,” where the dead could overlap with the living, and shared that knowledge with her daughter. Now Bri is having vivid nightmares of dead women, while the house itself starts reaching out to her, encouraging Bri to fulfill her destiny as a daughter, stop the murder of young women, and help their ghosts find peace. But first she must find the key to defeat that which has cursed her family for generations. An elegiac, profound and lyrical study in grief but also, this novel is an atmospheric and original ghost story, a novel that hooks readers with its compelling mystery, but reels them in with Bri’s voice. For fans of Jennifer McMahon, in general, and The Daughters of Block Island by Carmen, and The Devil in the White City by Larsen, specifically. 

Three Words That Describe This Book: elegiac, retelling, ode to murdered women

Further Appeal: More words-- unbalanced, uneasy, unsettling-- as Bri works through her grief readers are inside her head. We fall into her intense grief-- the prose itself is unbalanced but also lyrical, you can feel the grief. The story becomes an elegy for the dead and forgotten in general as well. Readers will be able to connect easily. the prose itself drips of sadness, unease, emptiness, despair. 

The details about Chicago, the house, the family's history all add to the unease. The radios are a great addition. The family made their money in radio (which explains why they have this crumbling mansion) and in that old house having them scattered everywhere makes so much sense. Them turning on to help Bri figure out the mystery-- that was also creepy and cool.

Briar Rose (Bri) and the Chicago Strangler are both pov's-- typical Thriller, we don't know exactly which character the killer is, but the payoff between 3 male recurring characters is worth it. All three are a satisfying addition to the over all story. I can't say more but readers will be happy with the resolution of all of those plot points.

"Keys and gates and locks and thorns." a refrain from her Mom-- the key to Bri stopping the family history of violence against its women.

The title is great because so many daughters have vanished over time but also it is specific to the family and Sleeping Beauty.

This is a ghost story but from a different angle. The house is haunted yes, but it is trying to speak to Bri through her intense grief. There is a family history here. 

Lots of frame and atmosphere and detail. But there is a central mystery-- who is the woman that Bri keeps seeing in her dreams, that the house.

The mom's stories shared after death through Bri's memory, such as the thin places-- such as cool way to think of the places where the living and dead overlap.

Retelling of Sleeping Beauty-- that part is sustained throughout and it works really well to unite the novel. Details of the story are carefully integrated into the novel but not in an obtrusive way-- it makes sense in the modern story. 

Family history is intertwined with a specific slice of Chicago history and urban legends.

Readalikes: The ones in the review above are there to give the range of readers who would enjoy this book. To those, I would add: Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman and the graphic novel Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? By Harold Schechter. 

Also give this book out to your True Crime fans because there is a lot here about True Crime-- specifically known serial killers. And it is very clear that Pelayo is trying to criticize modern True Crime for the violence it perpetuates against its female victims-- turning the killers into stars and making their victims ghosts (monsters)- silencing them completely. It's brilliantlly done.

The Cut
by C.J. Dotson

Apr. 2025. 304p. St. Martin’s, $29  (9781250335449). 
First published March 1, 2025 (Booklist).

Sadie, pregnant, with toddler in tow, packs up her car and flees north desperate to escape her abusive fiance, ending up at the rundown L’Arpin Hotel on the shores of Lake Erie interviewing for a housekeeper position. Hired on the spot, given a room, and offered child care by an elderly, permanent resident, it all seems too good to be true. And it is as the unease seeps in from every corner of this story. Sadie hears squelching, finds rooms barricaded from the inside, and clearly sees ominous shadows when visiting The Cut, the beach below the property. Or does she? Everyone else tells her she is mistaken. Dotson gets readers invested in Sadie immediately, even as the plot driven story burns slowly, and come the last third of the book, that investment pays off as the revelations, danger, and monsters burst the story open. Not for the faint of heart, suggest to fans of The Shining by King, The Insatiable Volt Sisters by Moulton, or even The Housemaid by McFadden.

Three Words That Describe This Book: creepy hotel, Horror-Thriller cross over, plot driven

Further Appeal: Here are some notes I took:

• Power plant and beach and squishy squelchy water sounds. 
• Psychological suspense meets monsters but the monsters didn't;t get enough screen time in my opinion
• Slow burn that builds the discomfort and unease and bursts open for last third.
• A great choice for plot driven readers
• She uses her phone the entire time, even though she is running away from her abusive ex-husband. Ultimately, there is an explanation but I found it weak.

Readalikes: There is a bit of each of those three hotel framed books listed in the body of the review above in this book. Besides those, add The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James. And in general, for fans of Sarah Pinborough.