THE GIRL WITH A THOUSAND FACES by Sunyi Dean – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Girl With a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean
Published by Tor Books on May 5 2026
Genres: Adult, Historical fantasy, Horror
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Intricately constructed and full of surprising reveals and connections, The Girl With a Thousand Faces is an epic, emotional journey of revenge, trauma and forgiveness.

“Pain and grief are holes that never fill. We just learn to step around them as we walk.”

It’s been a four year wait for Sunyi Dean’s follow up to The Book Eaters, and boy was it worth it. The Girl With a Thousand Faces is a stunning, complex story about ghosts, family, revenge, grief and trauma, and while it’s more of a heavy read than I expected, Dean grounds her themes in an intriguing mystery that will keep readers guessing. This is a ghost story unlike any you’ve probably seen before, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything that happened. The author weaves together Chinese mythology, family betrayal, and most importantly, the effects of war and how it changes and ruins lives. But as bleak as that might sound, there are some wonderful friendships hidden among the rubble, and Dean’s gorgeous prose and natural storytelling ability make this a must read for fans of historical, horror-tinged fantasy.

The story takes place in Hong Kong and follows two main timelines. In the present, 1975, we are introduced to the Walled City of Kowloon, a densely populated area full of the unsettled ghosts of those who were killed in World War II during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. Mercy Chan is a fifty-something year old “ghost talker,” someone who can communicate with ghosts and help them find peace and move on. Mercy works for a ruthless woman named Cobra Lily, who hired Mercy to keep Kowloon’s ghosts in check. Mercy doesn’t remember much of her early life, before she washed up on the shores of Hong Kong thirty-three years ago, but lately some of those memories are starting to return. An entity named Sea Sister is intruding in her dreams, asking if she remembers “the island,” and for some reason, Sea Sister seems very familiar.

The second timeline unfolds in 1941. Siu Yin is twenty years old when the war breaks out in Hong Kong. Her parents decide to flee to a small island called Shek Ham Chau, the birthplace of Siu Yin’s mother, Daiyu. When they arrive, Siu Yin is mesmerized by the perfectly preserved but deserted town, the result of a deadly typhoon that wiped out the town when Daiyu was a child. Now the island is full of the ghosts of those who died there. As Daiyu sinks further and further into despair over seeing her dead relatives again, Siu Yin finds an unexpected friend in a water spirit who gains her trust but later turns out to be something much more than she appears.

Both timelines and characters are connected in ways you won’t see coming, and the author brilliantly goes back and forth between them, dropping hints and circling back to previous events in circuitous ways. This isn’t a quick read by any means and takes some concentration to get all the moving parts straight. Characters change their names, swap bodies, and above all, ghosts are everywhere in this story. With all these complicated world-building rules, it’s easy to lose track of what’s happening at any given time, but trust me and stick with it, because the payoff will blow your mind.

I loved the Hong Kong setting and the fascinating way Dean twisted her world to include ghosts. And these aren’t necessarily wispy spirits who flit around aimlessly. They can become corporeal, and some of the confrontations between Mercy and the ghosts are shockingly violent and bloody. In this world, most ghosts are female, and all of them died tragically and have unfinished business with the living. Mercy’s job is to help them find closure, and it’s not always benign things like “tell my husband where I left the key” but more “my grandson killed me and now I need to kill him back.” I loved the fact that there is a ghost cat named Bao in the story, who somehow manages to appear in both timelines (!), and in the present, Bao helps Mercy with her ghost talking and acts almost like an enforcer when needed.

The World War II setting is a perfect backdrop to this emotional, gritty story. We follow one character (and here’s where I have to be vague because of spoilers) who joins a Chinese resistance group against the invading Japanese, using her special skills to help combat the enemy. Some of the scenes are simply horrifying, although I did love the way the author uses the Kowloon Walled City in her story, combining authentic history with the fantastical addition of ghosts. The Japanese are afraid of ghosts, so Kowloon becomes a refuge for those trying to escape capture.

Parts of the story are narrated by yet another character, this time in second person, someone who is specifically speaking to Siu Yin and recounting her story to the reader. This is where Chinese folklore and mythology enter the story, and I loved the way the author finally reveals the identity of this character.

In the end, all the pieces finally come together in an emotionally satisfying and hopeful conclusion. Just like the ghosts that populate Kowloon, Mercy, Siu Yin and all the other characters are still haunting me—and probably will for quite some time.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.