In Depression-era Chicago 1931, Harper Curtis is destitute and in need of shelter. When he finds a key in an old coat he steals, he is drawn to a boarded-up, dilapidated house in a rundown part of town. What he discovers when he unlocks the door and enters the House is beyond comprehension, especially the room upstairs containing the names of girls on the walls. He thinks of them as his Shining Girls as he finds special objects related to each one. It doesnꞌt take long for Harper to discern that these girls are to be his murder victims. And he proves to be quite a vicious, malevolent slayer with his sharp knife.
Every time Harper opens the front door of the House, Chicago changes to a different era in time, meaning he must figure out the date and reorient himself to the differences in the area. Testing himself, Harper thinks of a time and it opens for him, but does he regulate this phenomenon, or is the House in control? He soon realizes he can never go back beyond the day he found the house or go any farther forward than 1993. With his ability to time-travel using the House, Harper has been an undetectable slayer, which brings him untold joy.
In 1993, one of Harperꞌs Shining Girls was Kirby Mazrachi, but unbeknownst to him, Kirby survived his brutal butchery. Sheꞌs now made it her main goal in life to find her would- be assassin and make him pay for what he did to her. Using an internship with the reporter at the local newspaper who covered her attack, Kirby doggedly investigates previous cases of murdered women in Chicago. What she uncovers in past and current files is beyond belief. When Harper discovers sheꞌs still alive, it will take every ounce of cunning for Kirby to survive him again.
The chapters quickly jump back and forth through the years with a vast array of characters in Lauren Beukesꞌs THE SHINING GIRLS. The supernatural premise was quite promising, however, the complex plotline and bizarre ending fell a bit short of my expectations. That is not to say THE SHINING GIRLS will not appeal to other readers of this genre. It will just take some intense concentration on the readerꞌs part to enjoy it fully.
THE GIRL WHO WOULDN'T DIE HUNTS THE KILLER WHO SHOULDN'T
EXIST.
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 . . .
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