Just noticed a thread hadn't been made. The Girl 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. Goodreads profile Amazon profile Will get to it in a week or so
If you dont get a copy by tonight remind me and I can email you when Im home. But - I found it on myanon if you want to snatch it.
I'm a month behind. Just downloaded the I Let You Go audiobook to listen to with my wife and I'll read this when I'm finished with The Crippled God
I started this morning, got about 40 pages in on the train ride and I'm into it. My first question is: Spoiler how does the time machine house work? is it like 11/22/63 where you walk through a door into another time, or is that one room the portal?
Through: Harper 4 January 1932 (30%) Spoiler Not sure what to think so far. King of choppy beginning. So far, I dont think Buekes is the best writer ever. Trying to make it more mysterious but not doing it well. However, once she described the 'rules' of the House, it made more sense. Kirby is obviously going to be the hero of this story. I like her and Dan's parts. Im not hating it, but not as good as I was hoping. Also, living in Chicago, it's pretty cool to see/hear locales around the city
10% in Spoiler I think Harper is somehow gonna be Kirby's dad. Enjoying it so far. Pacing is good. Lots of mystery. Love the slow burn on how he's going forward in time.
Through Kirby 23 March 1989 Spoiler I take back what I said about her being a poor writer. That attack on Kirby was brutal Poor Tokyo I hope Harper gets what's coming to him. I was getting annoyed and really wanted to know what happened with Kirby and how she survived. Was worth the wait. Kind of wish we got more background on Harper though. Really dont have much of his motivation beside just the House telling him what to do and he just doing it
Spoiler that's very Oldboy of you. Just finished this chapter this morning. Spoiler I'm wondering on Harper's motivation as well. He obviously wasn't a saint before finding the house, but he didn't seem like one to murder innocent girls. Right now it seems that the house just mystically causes you to murder, which is meh. I am still interested to see how Kirby cracks the case and if she eventually becomes a time killer herself.
After a choppy, slow start, Im really into this book. Through Harper No Time Chapter (60% completed) Spoiler As I said really liking this now that the ball is rolling. Got my hopes up when I saw a Kirby chapter from 1932, but was immediately bummed we have to work backwards again. But now that she got a little thread from kid of the baseball card victim, feels like the pedal is to the medal. As far as Harper goes, still wish there was more backstory or internal dialogue to understand him better, but with that scene with him letting the car roll over his brother - I guess he just was a little psychopath from birth.
Spoiler so i just got confuse at the chapter with Kirby in the house that came out of nowhere. I honestly need to ask if my epub is wrong. it was right after mal steals his money.
Spoiler lol no youre good. It wasnt a very smooth transition or whatever you want to call it. Read my post above yours, I talked about that a bit edit - dont do that until you caught up to the Harper no time chapter
Just got to this part Spoiler Fuck, that passage was hard to read. From Tokyo to her getting cut, man, tough stuff. Dog came through in the end, though. I think she's a solid writer. This book isn't my normal genre, but it flows well and it's kept me, for the most part, entertained. My only complaint is everyone has the same sort of cadence to their thoughts, the same sarcastic quips style of speaking and thinking. Even while their thoughts are different, I've gotten characters confused a couple times because I can't tell who's speaking until an identifier is used (landmark, reminder of the year, etc.). Maybe it's just me. Also, I agree with you on the House. I'm assuming it will get explained in more detail. Because right now, the guy is one-dimensional.
Through Jin-Sook 23 March 1993 (69% niiiiice) Spoiler CHICAGO SUN-TIMES BRUTAL MURDER OF PASSIONATE HOUSING WORKER ROCKS CITY by Richard Gane CABRINI GREEN: A young social worker was found stabbed to death yesterday morning at 5 a.m. underneath the El line on the corner of West Schiller and North Orleans. That is my intersection. I live 3 doors away from it. Liking the story. I feel this is a good book, but could be a great book with more character development. Kirby is a great character, but that's really the only one we know shit about or are emotionally attached to. I just wish I knew more or cared more about the women Harper is murking.
Finished. 7/10 Spoiler So Malcolm has been scouting, looting the House for 6 years or so. I really thought he was going to be the one to save the day when Kirby ran into him. Not to beat a dead horse, but I liked this book, but was left wanting more and not in a good way. Wish there would have been more character development and gotten more of Harper's motivations. The premise was so cool. Just felt like it wasnt fully fleshed out. Ah well. Liked it, didnt love it. Didnt feel like I wasted my time reading it.
Finished as well. 7 is fair . . . Spoiler but the ending felt like a cop out, some lousy action movie type shit. They also never explained the house AT ALL, or why it gave Harper the killer motivation, and what a shitty way for Kirby to "find" Harper. Maybe it's more like a 6, but it really was a page turner for me. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next.
I'm 65% in.... Spoiler I can't help but think that this could be a really good book. I enjoy the premise I like everything that could be happening. Kirby is an interesting character and Harper seem like a very good antagonist. Dan I like for his role. But to this point I can't help but think there's just something missing. It could be better. Hopefully it will pick up another level.
Just finished. Spoiler It was ok. My biggest complaint is I don't think there was a lot of character development. We didn't get much insight into Harper outside of him being fucking crazy. Kirby was solid but the rest of the characters were who they were. I don't know, it's a weird book and I'm typing my thoughts real time here, but I just think it could've been better. Never explained the House in detail, maybe they explained the signicance of the various totems (The pony, baseball card, etc) but I'm not thinking of it off the top of my head, the ending felt rushed....I'm thinking a 6. And the thing is I think Beukes is a solid writer, if we're talking just straight up use of words, syntax, flow, etc. But she made some choices that I'm not a huge fan of.
Finished.... Spoiler I feel now after finishing the same way I did after the 65% mark. This book was ok...and could have been significantly better. It could have been a 9 out of 10 if the book just gave us more. More on Harper and how and why he really became a killer. More on the origins of the house. More on the apparent importance of Bartek. Kirby could have been even better...and she was by far the most developed character. The general storyline was outstanding. The execution was anything but. 5.5/10 [\spoiler]