A mystical blend of crime and the supernatural, FORGOTTEN SISTERS pits two investigators against a haunted Chicago, as young men begin missing and showing up drowned in the Chicago river. A clue leads them to a house with a story in and of itself, where two sisters, Anna and Jennie, reside.

The story itself is told well. Anna and Jennie have an interesting siblings-with-secrets idea to them. Think SUNDIAL meets CSI with a couple hidden supernatural bonuses thrown in. An extra bonus I enjoyed, aside from the POVs of Kowalski the retiring investigator and Anna, is an entertaining half a chapter into the head of Peter, and he provides a refreshing breath of fresh air when his intentions are shown.

The chapters get heavy at times with the exposition of Chicago, and peeling the layers back of Anna and Jennie’s story does get long, but the climax is rewarding and the haunted atmosphere does give way to a thrilling conclusion. Get ready to see a side of Chicago you did not expect.

There's a lot going on in Forgotten Sisters. Some true crime, a little fairy tale, a bit of historical fiction, a dash of horror, and a love letter to Chicago. Anna lives with her sister in an old house on the river. She hosts The Chicago Vault podcast, chronicling stories from the city's past. We also follow Detective Kowalski. Men are disappearing - there may be a serial killer on the loose, and Kowalski is on it.

Even with these two distinct perspectives I had trouble keeping track of the action and was confused through most of the book. I did love the Chicago setting!

My thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC.

I just finished a NetGalley copy of this book and loved it all. It was fantastic from opening sentence to final sentence. Not a sentence out of place. The setting of the house on the Chicago River was so well written I felt like I had been there. The ambiance from the writing was like a dreamlike underwater reality that was dizzying and you feel like you never quite get your footing on what is going on and I loved it. I can’t quite put into words the writing of this book but it will blow you away.

My first novel length read of this author. And hopefully not my last. I really enjoyed the storyline and the characters. Some interesting bits of true history were included in the plot that I had to look up and guess what? They were true! Highly recommended.

“Chicago is an October sort of city, even in the spring.”
“This is the beginning of the end of it all.”
AHHH!!! This book!!🖤 This is so much more than the story it tells. On the surface (pun intended) this is a missing persons/murder tale with supernatural elements. Ohh, but the history, the old school fairy tales, and the promises kept make this a frightening, and enlightening story that had me melting with heartache.
This is a story of two sisters living in their ancestral house on the river in Chicago. Maybe because the house seemed to play a character or maybe because the sisters were quirky but the book reminded me of The Haunting of Hill House combined with We Have Always Lived in a Castle. I truly believe you can say that Pelayo is a combination of Mary Shelley, Shirley Jackson, Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and Emily Dickinson. I have read my fair share of classics and the style in this book is a readable poetic grace.
Cynthia is passionate about Chicago and it’s history and it is evident on every page.

Part gothic fairy tale, part love story to old Chicago, Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo is one unique and haunting thriller.

Anna and her sister Jennie live in a bizarre home on the banks of the Chicago River and have found themselves on the outskirts of a police investigation. Detective Kowalski is certain the sudden abundance of drowned bodies is not a coincidence and instead a serial killer is at work. Pelayo has a way with words, making this thriller atmospheric, eerie and brimming with folklore - although at times it could feel a bit repetitive. I tried to piece together who the killer would be, realizing my initial suspect was too obvious to be fully true and instead the ending was more haunting than I had anticipated.

This thriller was an enchanting walk along the rivers edge, while hearing the siren song.

Pelayo writes "genre-blending novels that incorporate elements of fairy tales, mystery, detective, crime and horror" and I'd add historical fiction into the mix as well (at least in terms of this book); I ended up learning a lot about Chicago, and it really made me want to read more thrillers based in the windy city!

Thank you NetGalley, Kaye Publicity and Thomas & Mercer for the complimentary copies to read and review.

This book was an excellent mix of gothic horror and local history, complete with a haunted house, ghosts, mermaids/sirens, and Chicago disasters! 🏚️👻🧜‍♀️🌊

Definitely recommend it to lovers of grief horror, water horror, and history buffs who love horror! 🤓

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Cynthia Pelayo for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review!! ❤️

Title: Forgotten Sisters
Author: Cynthia Pelayo
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Pub Date: 03.19.2024
Genre: Gothic Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Suspense

Brief Synopsis

“Sisters Anna and Jennie live in a historic bungalow on the Chicago River. They’re tethered to a disquieting past, and with nowhere else to go, nothing can part them from their family home. Not the maddening creaks and disembodied voices that rattle the old walls. Not the inexplicable drownings in the area, or the increasing number of bodies that float by Anna’s window.”

My Thoughts

Forgotten Sisters is an ambitious mixture of atmospheric gothic fiction, crime procedural, and Chicago history wrapped up in a modern dark fairytale. Pelayo takes you, the reader, on a journey where you aren’t really sure what’s happening but you keep reading out of sheer curiosity.

The storyline around the house and the mystery surrounding the drownings kept me turning the page. Some of the longer passages about Chicago history slowed the pacing considerably and I struggled a bit to push through. Other times, it worked perfectly.

I appreciated some of the fairytale references but references to more recent fairytale retellings took me all the way out of the story. I would have loved more focus on the two detectives and the storyline regarding their investigation of the drownings.

Overall, Forgotten Sisters is a worthwhile read. If you enjoy gothic fiction, haunted houses, dark fairytales, or learning about Chicago history, you may find this book to be right up your alley.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the electronic ARC for this review.

A special thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this incredible story that I could not put down – seriously, I read most of this in one evening and it does not disappoint.
Forgotten Sisters is a work that spans many different genres working in tandem – part modern gothic, part police procedural, part magical realism. Two sisters live in a house on the Chicago River, bonded together by trauma and seemingly possessed by both their familial history and the history of the city of Chicago itself. Meanwhile people continue to go missing in the river and two detectives are on the case…
Pelayo’s writing blends horror and fantasy in addition to her trademark knowledge of Chicago. If you’re familiar with her previous works or are just hearing about her for the first time, absolutely check this one out.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Loved this beautiful, sad tale of love. Well-written plot and the fairy tale aspect was wonderful.
Highly recommend to others.

Happy Book Bday to Cynthia Pelayo! I was fortunate to read this early via the publisher and it’s highly recommended. The banks of the Chicago River overflow with suspenseful horror and elegiac beauty in Forgotten Sisters. Pelayo’s dark fairy tale has the glinting sharpness of a crime thriller. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📖🧜‍♀️🌃

I was really looking forward to this book, but I found it repetitive and tedious throughout. I almost quit several times. It felt like the story actually started around page 90, and didn't progress much until the last thirty pages or so. I've never read a book where 3/4 of a page was about drywall and plaster.

Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo is a beautifully written retelling of The Little Mermaid.
With a twisted mystery of the sudden disappearances of men near the Chicago River.
The amazing bond between two sisters, Anna and Jennie.
A gripping and atmospheric thriller that hooked me immediately.
I loved everything about Forgotten Sisters.
The writing is engaging. The characters are intriguing and the story was amazing.
I’m excited to read more from Cynthia Pelayo in the future.

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This mystery focuses on two sisters in Chicago, Anna and Jennie. Anna has a podcast about Chicago’s history. Jennie, meanwhile, becomes increasingly worried about Anna as bodies keep showing up drowned in the Chicago River.

I wanted to like this one based on the premise but the writing style wasn’t for me. I think too if the author had hooked me more in the beginning maybe with a “podcast” episode I would’ve been more drawn in.

I love every story I’ve read from Cynthia Pelayo, and this was no exception. Forgotten Sisters is a blend of fairy tale, crime thriller, Chicago history, and supernatural grief horror. Toward the first 1/3 or so, I was a bit confused and frustrated by Jennie’s character, but it all made sense once the story was wrapped up. This was a page-turner and full of the beautiful prose that Pelayo is known for. Can’t wait to see what she writes next!

I don’t like writing negative reviews, but I have to give my honest opinion. I love the cover of this one and the premise sounded intriguing, but I did not vibe with this story. I just did not have a fun time reading this book and I probably should’ve DNFed this one.

I was not a fan of the writing style and the story was confusing at times. The main character and her sister were just odd, and not in a good way. There are chapters that switch from the sisters’ POVs to the detectives’ POVs, but there are no chapter headers to distinguish the different perspectives. This drove me crazy!

There were parts in the story that I liked, mainly the supernatural elements and the gothic atmosphere. If you’re into nonfiction, the main character shares A LOT about the history of Chicago. There were interesting facts about Chicago that I never knew, so that was cool, but there were some facts that seemed unnecessary and took me out of the main story.

Overall, this was a disappointing read. I don’t know if I will read anything else by this author.

This book was not for me but I think others will enjoy it. I couldn't get into the fantasy and dream aspect of it. It was too confusing for me. I did enjoy the crime and investigative parts.

This is my third or fourth book I've read by the author, and I love the way she writes these sort of fever dream, fairy tale-esque stories so much! Her love of Chicago is a common theme throughout her books, and enjoyed the tidbits of info we learn about the city here as much as I did in CHILDREN OF CHICAGO - it gives the city a sort of life of its own, turning it into more of a character than a location in certain ways, which I think is super cool.

The story of the two sisters here, Jennie and Anna, is a very emotional one. It's a little bit of a slow burn, but the ending wraps things up quickly and nicely, tying loose ends and bringing things full circle. We get multiple perspectives, from the sisters to podcast bits to the detectives investigating a string of murders along the river, and I liked that things jumped around a bit - it kept me on my toes, unable to find solid footing (which I think really lent itself well to the dreamlike nature of the story).

I’m not even sure where to start with this one.

The prologue grabbed me immediately with nice descriptive language and imagery and I was excited to dive in. Once past the prologue it was a bit of a slow burn. Nothing really started happening until about 30% in and once things did start moving (still slowly) the story kind of just went off the rails and I got very confused, and stayed confused, for most of the book. I had no idea where the story was going or what was happening.

Were they dealing with actual hauntings? Was it ghosts? Mermaids? Mental illness? Paranormal killers? Flesh and blood killers? It was a lot and there didn’t seem to be a clear vision on where the story was going or how the various threads were going to come together in the end.

Based on what the author tells us the story takes place over the course of several weeks, maybe even months. Anna and Peter meet and fall in love, the level of spookiness in the house escalates, and Jennie’s condition continues to deteriorate, but we don’t get to experience that though the story. The author just tells us these things, which made it hard to feel invested in what was happening.

The scenes with the two detectives were entertaining and I would have liked to see more of them. The city of Chicago was its own character, playing a big role in the book, and I enjoyed learning more about its history. With her language and her use of magical realism Pelayo also does do a good job creating an ominous and spooky backdrop for the story. There were a couple of creepy moments that really got me.

The concept for this book was intriguing and there was a lot of potential there but ultimately it just fell flat for me.

Thanks NetGally and Thomas & Mercer for this advanced copy.

FORGOTTEN SISTERS is another solid read from Cynthia Pelayo. Eerie and atmospheric, it is part haunted house/ghost story, and part noir detective/history lesson. At times, early on, I felt caught in a loop with the storyline, which, to me, felt repetitive. That may have been on me as I only spent short clips with the story. The author created a great sense of place and space in the telling of FORGOTTEN SISTERS. The sisters, Anna and Jennie, have their mysteries and their quirks. Their dynamic is a sad one of family responsibility and multi-layered heartache. The two detectives were a special treat—infrequent as their POV was, but the story was not really theirs. That said, I wanted more of them. I’m probably a weirdo, but I think my favorite part was the history of Chicago and its river. There are loads of breadcrumbs hidden in this book that could be easily overlooked, and yet, that ending!