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Curious Toys

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Curious Toys

Written by: Elizabeth Hand
Narrated by: Carol Monda
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About this listen

An intrepid young woman stalks a murderer through turn-of-the-century Chicago in "this rich, spooky, and atmospheric thriller that will appeal to fans of Henry Darger and Erik Larson alike" (Sarah McCarry).

In the sweltering summer of 1915, Pin, the 14-year-old daughter of a carnival fortune-teller, dresses as a boy and joins a teenage gang that roams the famous Riverview amusement park, looking for trouble.

Unbeknownst to the well-heeled city-dwellers and visitors who come to enjoy the midway, the park is also host to a ruthless killer who uses the shadows of the dark carnival attractions to conduct his crimes. When Pin sees a man enter the Hell Gate ride with a young girl and emerge alone, she knows that something horrific has occurred.

The crime will lead her to the iconic outsider artist Henry Darger, a brilliant but seemingly mad man. Together, the two navigate the seedy underbelly of a changing city to uncover a murderer few even know to look for.

©2019 Elizabeth Hand (P)2019 Mulholland Books Amateur Sleuth Detective Fiction Historical Mystery Women Sleuths Women's Fiction City Carnival

What the critics say

"An atmospheric crime novel.... A phantasmagoric time trip tailor-made for fans of The Devil in the White City." (Publishers Weekly)

"Elizabeth Hand is a national treasure. Sinister sideshow hustlers, back alley intrigues, and brilliant outsiders: Turn-of-the-century underworld Chicago comes alive in this rich, spooky, and atmospheric thriller that will appeal to fans of Henry Darger and Erik Larson alike." (Sarah McCarry, author of All Our Pretty Songs)

"A well-crafted and deliciously unsettling period thriller." (Booklist starred review)

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Profile Image for Genevieve Paquette

not for me

I wanted to love this. Based on the blurb, it rounded great. Historical serial killer thriller featuring fictionalized versions of real historical figures (a very niche genre of which I am particularly fond) set in an amusement park? With sideshow artistes? Perfect!
But then it failed to deliver.
The writing was ok, the concept was interesting, but it never really gelled for me? I think part of it was that I wasn't sure who the target audience was- large swaths of it felt like a YA/teen novel, but the other parts were firmly adult general fiction. An lgbtq bildungsroman mixed with a thriller about a serial killing pedophile, but neither part felt fully developed (or, in truth, all that compelling).

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