The Shining Girls
A Novel
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3.9 • 301 Ratings
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- $2.99
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
Now an Apple TV+ series starring Elisabeth Moss: the girl who wouldn't die hunts the killer who shouldn't exist in this "expertly chilling" twist on the serial killer novel from the award-winning author Lauren Beukes (San Francisco Chronicle).
Harper Curtis is a killer who stepped out of the past. Kirby Mazrachi is the girl who was never meant to have a future. Kirby is the last shining girl, one of the bright young women, burning with potential, whose lives Harper is destined to snuff out after he stumbles on a House in Depression-era Chicago that opens on to other times.
At the urging of the House, Harper inserts himself into the lives of these shining girls, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He's the ultimate hunter, vanishing without a trace into another time after each murder -- until one of his victims survives.
Determined to bring her would-be killer to justice, Kirby joins the Chicago Sun-Times to work with the reporter, Dan Velasquez, who covered her case. Soon Kirby finds herself closing in on an impossible truth . . .
“Utterly original, beautifully written, and I must say, it creeped the holy bejasus out of me. This is something special.” —Tana French
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
How do you make a serial killer who targets fiercely intelligent (“shining”) women even more dangerous? Give him access to time travel. That’s the daunting challenge facing cub newspaper reporter Kirby Mazrachi, who begins to track the murderous, elusive Harper Curtis after nearly dying in her own encounter with him. His vicious attacks leave a bloody trail across Chicago, but the man himself is virtually untraceable as he time hops from the Depression era to the present. Lauren Beukes’ cerebral thriller doesn’t skimp on gore: depictions of Curtis’ kills are violent and unrelentingly vivid. While it’s not for the faint of heart—or stomach—The Shining Girls will thrill fans of sharp psychological horror.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
South African author Beukes, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Zoo City, adds an intriguing wrinkle to the serial killer suspense novel. In the creepy opening chapter, set in 1974, sadist Harper Curtis, who's on the prowl for one of his "shining girls" ("bright young women burning with potential"), approaches six-year-old Kirby Mazrachi, as she plays alone. After an initially friendly exchange turns nasty, Harper promises that he will see Kirby when she's grown up. In 1989, he keeps that promise by savagely attacking her. Miraculously, Mazrachi survives and leverages an internship with a Chicago newspaper into a private investigation of her assailant who can travel through time. The shifting perspectives require readers to stay alert, but those who do will be rewarded. Beukes is particularly good at garnering sympathy for Harper's female victims, creating deep characterizations in only a few pages, so that they come across as more than just fodder for a psychopath's mission. 5-city author tour.
Customer Reviews
Time traveling serial killer
Interesting concept and well-written. This book was hard to put down!
Vastly Over-rated
I downloaded this book immediately upon release and was immediately disappointed; and this was supposed to be "the" book of the summer. Hardly. Go grab Tana French and leave Lauren Beukes at home. Her characters are flat; her suspense is lackluster; her intrigue, non-existent. My 14-year old writes more creative plot twists than this muck… So sad that this book rec'd so much UNdeserved hype.
Leroy - July 2022
I tried to enjoy this, but there was too much jumping around chapter to chapter. No depth. Cliched characters. Almost like “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins. I guess non-linear narration is considered a style now. Read Zadie Smith’s “White Teeth” if you want interesting characters and a satisfying plot.