Everyone Shut Up, It's Body Horror Time
A Review of The Forest of Missing Girls by Nichelle Giraldes
Spoiler-free Review.
Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
October may be over, but spooky season never really ends if you’re a horror fan. So prepare for severed limbs and existential dread, because it’s body horror time, baby.
I was very excited to receive an advanced copy of The Forest of Missing Girls from NetGalley. Advertised as a small-town mystery surrounding the disappearances of dozens of young girls (the plot is kind of in the name), the book is genuinely unnerving. I’m not sure what I expected—though mysteries usually always have the same few beats—but Nichelle Giraldes took a path that surprised me. But was it good?
The plot is very straightforward. Ophelia returns to her hometown after a breakup, and her sister’s best friend goes missing from their very backyard. Much like the other disappearances in town, there are no leads and no witnesses. Ophelia begins to suspect that her mother, Elizabeth, knows more about the missing girls than she lets on. Thus begins Ophelia’s slow unraveling of the horrors lurking in the forest.
The Forest of Missing Girls tackles quite a few themes: body horror, complex family dynamics, folk/eco horror, and women’s beauty standards (though I wouldn’t quite call it feminist horror). It’s an entertaining read with an especially fun second half, but the prose isn’t strong enough to really land all of its parts.
The chapters switch off between Ophelia and ‘the missing girls,’ giving readers glimpses into the truth while Ophelia scrambles to find out for herself. As for the horror: the forest is anthropomorphised, which chilled me whenever Ophelia entered; the body horror is both horrifying and existential; the villain takes over the scene whenever they’re presented. Nichelle Giraldes nailed the fear without falling into old-school mystery cliches or slasher stories. And I’ll tell you right now, the body horror isn’t what you’re thinking.
As for criticisms, the opening chapters didn’t match the tone of the rest of the book, and I wish readers were given a more engaging beginning. Ophelia is likable, but I wish she had more hobbies or traits, because as is, she reads like a blank slate I’m supposed to project myself onto. Some of the prose felt underdeveloped (lots of adverbs, directly stating things instead of letting the reader find out, etc.) but it was still readable, and I sped through the latter half of the book with white knuckles. But could I name the side characters? Could I, with a gun to my head, describe the scenery or the protagonist? Giraldes didn’t immerse me in the setting as much as she immersed me in the fear, which could have been intentional, but I disliked it regardless. What’s the point if I’m not rooting for your main cast?
Overall, I enjoyed the book and I would consider its quality average. I’m excited to read more from the author as she develops her craft.
Have you read anything good lately? Or maybe something average—perhaps even below—that you have no one to talk to about? Drop a comment below and we can get this conversation rolling. <3
STAR RATING: ☆☆☆½
