Sibling relationships can become complex, especially when there is a need to care for an older relative.
Whose responsibility is it? Why should one take more control than the other?
For brothers Nick and Joshua, their dilemma is brought to the foreground when their father asks them to return home as he is dying.
This dredges up memories both would rather forget from the past, as their father wasn’t an ideal father. What author Kailee Pedersen does, is give us a deeply layered story, where each character feels like they have their full backstory, so as the real plot unravels, it becomes all the more haunting.
One slightly underdeveloped plot strand that doesn’t go anywhere is a queer sub-plot with one of the brothers, which doesn’t fully explain whether it’s part of a character trait or just hidden desires.
The isolated woodland location is ideal, as our family and Joshua’s wife Emilia start to clash, and old wounds are exhumed and torn open.
Pedersen does throw in some curveballs, which recall Hereditary, and using a past/present day chapter style, they will have you constantly trying figure the puzzle that is Sacrificial Animals.
Sacrificial Animals is a brisk read, which makes Pedersen an author to keep an eye on.
Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen is available now in various formats from Titan Books.
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