Lauren Beukes

Chicago 1931. Harper Curtis, a violent drifter, stumbles on a house with a secret as shocking as his own twisted nature - it opens onto other times. He uses it to stalk his carefully chosen 'shining girls' through the decades - and cut the spark out of them. He's the perfect killer. Unstoppable. Untraceable. He thinks. Chicago, 1992. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Tell that to Kirby Mazrachi, whose life was shattered after a brutal attempt to murder her. Still struggling to find her attacker, her only ally is Dan, an ex-homicide reporter who covered her case and now might be falling in love with her.

The Shining Girls

The girls who wouldn't die hunts the killer who shouldn't exist. The future is not as loud as war, but it is relentless. It has a terrible fury all its own." 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 the shining girls, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He's the ultimate hunter, vanishing into another time after each murder, untraceable-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 ex-homicide reporter, Dan Velasquez, who covered her case. Soon Kirby finds herself closing in on the impossible truth . . . The Shining Girls is a masterful twist on the serial killer tale: a violent quantum leap featuring a memorable and appealing heroine in pursuit of a deadly criminal.

A Novel

Audrey Lord

this book was so good. it reminded me that woman are all beautiful.

"A time-traveling serial killer is impossible to trace-- until one of his victims survives. In Depression-era Chicago, Harper Curtis finds a key to a house that opens on to other times. But it comes at a cost. He has to kill the shining girls: bright young women, burning with potential. He stalks them through their lives across different eras until, in 1989, one of his victims, Kirby Mazrachi, survives and starts hunting him back. Working with an ex-homicide reporter who is falling for her, Kirby has to unravel an impossible mystery"--Publisher's web site.

The shining girls

Jeff James

Lauren Beukes first came to my attention thanks to William Gibson or maybe Cory Doctorow. Some great author who recommended her on Twitter. I picked up her first two books, Moxyland and Zoo City, and read Moxyland a few years ago. I liked it, but it definitely felt like Gibson’s sensibility filtered through a South African setting. On the other hand, The Shining Girls, her third novel and first for Mulholland Books, reads like Beukes striking out on her own and making a name for herself. The result is stunning, harrowing and immensely readable.

The Shining Girls follows the interlocking lives of two characters: Curtis Harper, who discovers a mysterious house that lets him travel in time as long as he murders the “shining girls” mapped out on the bedroom wall, and Kirby Mazrachi, one of Harper’s attempted murder victims who manages to survive and devotes her life to tracking him down. We are also treated to heartbreaking vignettes of the women Harper kills throughout the 20th century; every woman he murders is full of endless potential that he snuffs out by torturing them to death and mutilating their bodies.

Although time travel is part of the narrative, The Shining Girls feels more like a crime thriller than a scifi story. It helps that the story all takes part in the past – Kirby’s “present day” is the early nineties. The speculative elements exist mostly as plot devices and a way to build tension, and Beukes doesn’t spend much time explaining how Harper is able to do what he does. Beukes has a background in journalism, and it’s clear that a lot of research went into this novel. The women we meet throughout the story span multiple social classes, decades and races, and each one is carefully drawn in the short moments before she dies terribly.

My only criticism of the novel is that it feels like Kirby discovers the truth very late in the story, and after that point everything kicks into high gear until the ending. I would have liked to see a bit more of Kirby exploring the strange world of the house and its dangerous inhabitant. If nothing else, Beukes left me wanting more at the end, which is definitely a positive thing. My hope is that The Shining Girls is just the first of Beukes’ forays into crime/thriller writing. It’s a genre that suits her well.

Amy Thibodeau

I really wanted to like this book. I was looking for a good, easy pot boiler type summer novel and I really enjoyed Gone Girl, which this has been compared to. This book just didn't come together for me. I didn't really care about or believe in the characters and I just didn't feel connected to what happened. I was ready for the book to end, but it just seemed to fold up very quickly and neatly - like the story ran out of steam instead of actually ending. 

I also found the violence a bit pornographic. I know it's a book about a serial killer and I don't mind violence when it feels like it's an important part of telling the story, but in this case it just felt a bit gross. 

Overall, this book was pretty disappointing.

Janice Hopper

I zipped through this book pretty quickly. It's definitely got page-turner appeal. But when I was done, I was vaguely dissatisfied. Kirby, the main character, seemed a little sketched-in to me, I think. Very nice outline, but lacking in detail somehow. Same with Dan, her mentor, and Rachel, her mom. 

The most interesting thing to me was following the thread of the story through time. I felt like I needed to grab a pencil and paper to keep track of WHEN I was in the story. 

It kept me turning pages and worrying over the characters, though, so 4 stars.

Stephen King's pick for Best Summer Read 2013 (The Times): 'Clever story, smart prose' The girl who wouldn't die ...hunting a killer who shouldn't exist. He's the perfect killer. Unstoppable. Untraceable. He thinks. CHICAGO, 1931. Harper Curtis, a violent drifter, stumbles on a house with a secret as shocking as his own twisted nature - it opens onto other times. He uses it to stalk his carefully chosen 'shining girls' through the decades - and cut the spark out of them. 'It's not my fault. It's yours. You shouldn't shine. You shouldn't make me do this.' CHICAGO, 1992. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Tell that to Kirby Mazrachi, whose life was shattered after a brutal attempt to murder her. Still struggling to find the attacker, Kirby's only ally is Dan, an ex-homicide reporter who covered the case and now might be falling in love with her. As Kirby investigates, she finds the other girls - the ones who didn't make it. The evidence is ...impossible. But for a girl who should be dead, impossible doesn't mean it didn't happen ...'strong contender for the role of this summer's universal beach read ... an] expert hair-raiser ...loaded with acrobatic twists' New York Times 'whip-smart, mildly tricksy and compulsively readable' The Weekend Australian 'Engrossing as it is original, as rewarding as it is challenging ...a beautifully layered work of fiction. Take the time to read this, it's mesmerizing' The Sun Forget GONE GIRL, now it's all about THE SHINING GIRLS' The Observer 'By turns brilliant, brutal and riveting ...Read it and wonder' The Age 'Powerful. A tense, compelling thriller' The Times 'A tremendous work of suspense fiction...a mind-melting, heart-pounding mashup that delivers on its promise' Cory Doctorow 'One of my favourite books of the year ...stark, brooding and will have you sitting up long into the wee hours in a bid to gallop through its pages' The Herald 'A grisly crime thriller meets sci-fi action meets historical fiction in a wildly inventive summer page-turner' Entertainment Weekly 'The premise is pure Stephen King, but Beukes gives it an intricate, lyrical treatment all her own' Time magazine 'Fantastic' Derek Landy 'utterly original, beautifully written, it creeped the holy bejasus out of me. This is something special' Tana French 'Full of surprises ...Keep the lights on' Daily Mail 'If you've got a GONE GIRL shaped hole in your life, try this cleverly constructed thriller' Evening Standard

Charles Siboto

The Shining Girls is as gritty as the darker parts of the world we always try to hide from. It's violent and brutal at times but it also portrays courage and kindness. It's a fast-paced read and it's very hard to put down. Prepare to be out of commission for a bit whilst reading it.

The girl who wouldn't die ... hunting a killer who shouldn't exist. He's the perfect killer. Unstoppable. Untraceable. He thinks. CHICAGO, 1931. Harper Curtis, a violent drifter, stumbles on a house with a secret as shocking as his own twisted nature - it opens onto other times. He uses it to stalk his carefully chosen 'shining girls' through the decades - and cut the spark out of them. 'It's not my fault. It's yours. You shouldn't shine. You shouldn't make me do this.' CHICAGO, 1992. they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. tell that to Kirby Mazrachi, whose life was shattered after a brutal attempt to murder her. Still struggling to find the attacker, Kirby's only ally is Dan, an ex-homicide reporter who covered the case and now might be falling in love with her. As Kirby investigates, she finds the other girls - the ones who didn't make it. the evidence is ... impossible. But for a girl who should be dead, impossible doesn't mean it didn't happen ... 'strong contender for the role of this summer's universal beach read ... loaded with acrobatic twists' New York times

Jessica Guht

This book was so well written! This is one of those books that I am going to want to go back a reread to see how everything connects, and the ending was so unexpected but so good in that it made everything a full circle.

Ben Nathan

This was 19 levels of messed up and I highly enjoyed it. Beukes writes off the wall serial murderer books that just make me want more. This one had intriguing characters, cool premise, and just the right amount of twisted-ness. High recommend for those that like murder stuff.

Randy Robbins

I read good things about this book and when it got picked up for a series, I thought I would check it out. This book is very disappointing. It feels like half the story is missing. It feels disjointed and it does not feel resolved at all. There is no explanation for what is occurring and most of the characters except for Kirby are bland or just names on the page. There is no reason given to care for any of the victims or explanation as to why they are the victims. Hopefully a TV series can take what is on the page and expand it into a story that makes sense, at least to me.

Rachel

The Shining Girls started off kind of rocky, got better, then falls apart. It takes a little bit to understand what is going on with Harper because the book explains it in a vague sentence early on. He goes back in time and kills women because the house he is in tells him to. Yep. A lot going on that just gets messy. The characters are great though so that makes the book more interesting and able to stand the time traveling serial killer scenario. The book just goes to hell at the end when Kirby kind of figures out what is going on. No real reaction just a need to stop him. Ok. And what happens when she does stop him? The book ends. I was really hoping Kirby and Dan would try to explain it and prove what Harper was, but nah.

The Shining Girls

Reviews