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Book Review
Oct. 15th, 2019 09:54 pmThe Shining Girls
by Lauren Beukes
In Depression-era Chicago, lowlife Harper Curtis stumbles upon a house that allows him to travel through time. Thus his murderous tendencies are nurtured and abetted, and Harper becomes a serial killer, taking the lives of young women who shine with talent and potential across the twentieth century. Until one of his victims, Kirby, survives and starts hunting him. She takes an internship at the Sun-times for the purpose of working with Dan Velazquez, a former homicide reporter turned sportswriter who covered her case in order to gain access to information and assistance in her quest.
This novel was very interesting and well-written. The plot was clever, and the pacing never lagged. I could have done with a bit more suspense and tension at key points, though. I liked the Beukes always showed the murders from the victims' point of view so that the violence never became salacious. She also gave enough backstory on each victim so that I cared about them and felt the loss of their departure from the world. I loved the characters, too. Even Harper had depth and complexity. Kirby was wonderful, realistic mix of traumatized and scrappy.
by Lauren Beukes
In Depression-era Chicago, lowlife Harper Curtis stumbles upon a house that allows him to travel through time. Thus his murderous tendencies are nurtured and abetted, and Harper becomes a serial killer, taking the lives of young women who shine with talent and potential across the twentieth century. Until one of his victims, Kirby, survives and starts hunting him. She takes an internship at the Sun-times for the purpose of working with Dan Velazquez, a former homicide reporter turned sportswriter who covered her case in order to gain access to information and assistance in her quest.
This novel was very interesting and well-written. The plot was clever, and the pacing never lagged. I could have done with a bit more suspense and tension at key points, though. I liked the Beukes always showed the murders from the victims' point of view so that the violence never became salacious. She also gave enough backstory on each victim so that I cared about them and felt the loss of their departure from the world. I loved the characters, too. Even Harper had depth and complexity. Kirby was wonderful, realistic mix of traumatized and scrappy.
