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andersond826's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. It was different. Who-done-it combined with time travel.
songwind's review against another edition
4.0
This is the story of a time-travelling serial killer and his victims.
Harper jumps forward and back through time with the help of a strange house. In it he finds the names of women, the "Shining Girls" and artifacts to give to or take from them.
From the Great Depression to the 90s, he visits the Shining Girls as children and gives them a gift, then comes back later to take it back.
Kirby is the only one that survived the encounter.
Positives
The story is very solid. It's enjoyable, and tense. The mix of POVs between the victims, Harper, Kirby, and her reporting partner Dan keep things fresh and offer varying takes. The shifts in timeline due to the aspect of time travel are mostly handled quite well.
Negatives
The most persistent annoyance for me was the use of South African/British terminology for the internal thoughts and the dialogue of the all-American cast. "Bank notes" instead of "bills," "punters" instead of.. audience? rubes? "Holdups" instead of thigh-highs. That kind of thing. It was jarring, and interrupted the flow of the story.
There are a couple of POV shifts that seem pointless in retrospect.
All in all, a very enjoyable read.
Harper jumps forward and back through time with the help of a strange house. In it he finds the names of women, the "Shining Girls" and artifacts to give to or take from them.
From the Great Depression to the 90s, he visits the Shining Girls as children and gives them a gift, then comes back later to take it back.
Kirby is the only one that survived the encounter.
Positives
The story is very solid. It's enjoyable, and tense. The mix of POVs between the victims, Harper, Kirby, and her reporting partner Dan keep things fresh and offer varying takes. The shifts in timeline due to the aspect of time travel are mostly handled quite well.
Negatives
The most persistent annoyance for me was the use of South African/British terminology for the internal thoughts and the dialogue of the all-American cast. "Bank notes" instead of "bills," "punters" instead of.. audience? rubes? "Holdups" instead of thigh-highs. That kind of thing. It was jarring, and interrupted the flow of the story.
There are a couple of POV shifts that seem pointless in retrospect.
All in all, a very enjoyable read.
bear_reads_books's review against another edition
5.0
Yet another time travel book I enjoyed. Really dark and messed up and just great.
redshoeson's review against another edition
3.0
I'm torn about this one. It got such glowing reviews that it's possible I expected too much from it. In fact, that's how I felt when I finished: as though I'd overestimated the complexity of the plot. It will probably stay with me for little while because of the clever overarching plot line, though. Recommended.
zmull's review against another edition
4.0
Solid thriller. Just clever enough to feel fresh, but not so clever to seem gimmicky. Nice!
geekwayne's review against another edition
3.0
‘The Shining Girls’ by Lauren Beukes is a novel about a strange house, a survivor and a serial killer.
Kirby survived a gruesome attempt on her life by Harper Curtis. Now she wants to find the man, but that may prove to be difficult because it’s not where Harper is, but when. Kirby takes a job at a newspaper, hoping to have access to data, but what she finds leads her to a house that can open doors in time and a killer who hunts down girls who shine.
This was the January pick for my online book club. It has a science fiction premise, but left a lot unexplained. I liked the writing in this gruesome police procedural with some supernatural elements.
Kirby survived a gruesome attempt on her life by Harper Curtis. Now she wants to find the man, but that may prove to be difficult because it’s not where Harper is, but when. Kirby takes a job at a newspaper, hoping to have access to data, but what she finds leads her to a house that can open doors in time and a killer who hunts down girls who shine.
This was the January pick for my online book club. It has a science fiction premise, but left a lot unexplained. I liked the writing in this gruesome police procedural with some supernatural elements.
anaizq's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5