Following my attendance at the Old Peculier Crime Writing
Festival in Harrogate this year, I bought this book off the back of seeing
Lauren at the South of the Equator event.
I admit that with an innovative premise of a time-travelling serial
killer, I was already sold before the book arrived. Happily, I was not disappointed when I
started reading.
Lauren’s third person narrative and several disparate POVs
must have been quite a challenge to keep up to whilst writing the novel – not
to mention the time-travel aspect – but it never falters and pulls you in
immediately. The violence when it comes
to the killer, is stomach churning and not for the faint-hearted (and/or dog
lovers for that matter) yet I enjoyed the duality of both the killer and the
victims obsession with the crime.
Although the main POVs Lauren uses are those of the killer,
Harper Curtis and one of his victims, Kirby the only one to have survived, we
are also treated to the POVs and lives of several of the other victims which
really help the reader to identify with them and to care about them before they
are ultimately dispatched.
As mentioned in my previous post following the South of the
Equator event, Lauren also wanted the book to be a book of our time, not just
in terms of the history and I think she achieved her aim. There are several aspects in the plot and
characters that point to the power and achievements of women, despite a society
which would seek to keep them down. Also
there are hints to the advances in technology that may or may not enhance our
lives in this modern society.
The book is also set in several time periods as Harper is
from 1950s Depression era Chicago and the plot goes backwards and forwards
through to the 1990s. The main sticking
point for me is the believability of a time-travelling house, but once you
suspend belief, this is an engrossing read.
A time-travelling serial killer – what’s not to like? 9/10
#LaurenBeukes #TheShiningGirls
#LaurenBeukes #TheShiningGirls
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