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“A fun-house mirror of a novel filled with Chicago history and detail. Dark and thrilling.”
Lori Rader-Day, Edgar-nominated author
A Literary Hub Pick of Favorite Books of the Year
A Slate Magazine Best Book of the Year in Audiobooks
A 2019 Booklist Best Book of Adult Books for Young Adults
A 2019 Locus Recommendation
Finalist for the Locus Award
Finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award
An intrepid young woman stalks a murderer who preys on young girls through turn-of-the-century Chicago, in this thrilling historical mystery.
"Another brilliant mystery … Wonderfully imaginative and richly delivered." —New York Times Book Review
In the sweltering summer of 1915, Pin, the fourteen-year-old daughter of a carnival fortune-teller, dresses as a boy and joins a teenage gang that roams the famous Riverview amusement park, looking for trouble.
Unbeknownst to the well-heeled city-dwellers and visitors who come to enjoy the midway, the park is also host to a ruthless killer who uses the shadows of the dark carnival attractions to conduct his crimes. When Pin sees a man enter the Hell Gate ride with a young girl, and emerge alone, she knows that something horrific has occurred.
The crime will lead her to the iconic outsider artist Henry Darger, a brilliant but seemingly mad man. Together, the two navigate the seedy underbelly of a changing city to uncover a murderer few even know to look for.
"Turn-of-the-century underworld Chicago comes alive in this rich, spooky, and atmospheric thriller that will appeal to fans of Henry Darger and Erik Larson alike." —Sarah McCarry, author of All Our Pretty Songs
ONE OF THE YEAR'S BEST BOOKS—LitHub, Chicago Public Library, CrimeReads
Praise