Curious Toys

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Pub Date Oct 15 2019 | Archive Date Nov 15 2019

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Description

An intrepid young woman stalks a murderer through turn-of-the-century Chicago in "this rich, spooky, and atmospheric thriller that will appeal to fans of Henry Darger and Erik Larson alike" (Sarah McCarry).

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.
An intrepid young woman stalks a murderer through turn-of-the-century Chicago in "this rich, spooky, and atmospheric thriller that will appeal to fans of Henry Darger and Erik Larson alike" (Sarah...

Advance Praise

"This book contains a rare kind of perfection: Elizabeth Hand's rough, observant magic draws into its circle great historical accuracy, a cross-dressing central protagonist, a wonderfully tender portrait of the great Outsider Artist Henry Darger, a vibrant thriller plot, reflections on gender and its place in civic order, a helpful Ben Hecht, and one of the greatest climactic drop-the-mic moments I've ever read—and does all this while patiently setting into place the warm emotional armatures that make Curious Toys so moving." —Peter Straub

"A well-crafted and deliciously unsettling period thriller." —Booklist (starred review)

"Hand is a mage of the page.... [Curious Toys] will enchant those who like tough-girl protagonists and antiheroes, as well as fans of historical crime fiction." —Library Journal (starred review)

"Curious Toys is wonderful! I stayed up late two nights in a row, transported. It will be catnip for readers who love Chicago, circuses, cross-dressers, and early cinema." —Audrey Niffenegger, bestselling author of The Time-Traveler's Wife

"Richly imaginative and psychologically complex." —Kirkus Reviews

"This book contains a rare kind of perfection: Elizabeth Hand's rough, observant magic draws into its circle great historical accuracy, a cross-dressing central protagonist, a wonderfully tender...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780316485883
PRICE $27.00 (USD)
PAGES 384

Average rating from 8 members


Featured Reviews

I really like historical books. This was a fascinating story set in Chicago in the early 1900s. Takes place at the local amusement park. A murder has been committed and a fourteen year old girl who dresses a boy tries to find the killer.

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