Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pederson is a darkly atmospheric story about a toxic family environment, mixed with Chinese mythology. The story tells about Nick Morrow and his relationship with his boorish, abusive, emotionally distant father. It also touches on his older brother who bullies him, then leaves him for college, a career, and a wife. The brothers relationship becomes equally strained as Emilia, Joshua's wife, is seen as an outsider bent on tearing the family asunder.
The book is very slow paced. It is described as a horror but it's not scary or horrific. It more an in-depth analysis of toxic relationships, coupled with abusive acts. It tells the story in two time periods, the past and the present. If you have knowledge of Chinese mythology then you know where the story is heading pretty early on. The last quarter of the book picks up the pace and rushes to the ending.
Kailee Pederson's writing shows off her intelligence as the book is littered with obscure and atypical wording. I found myself looking up quite a lot of words that I did not know before which made the pace of the book slower than normal. Her details throughout the story were graphic and she created the setting masterfully. It evoked a very gothic thriller feel to the story. If you enjoy stories with dysfunctional family dynamics, you will certainly enjoy this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.