The Shining Girls cover art

The Shining Girls

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Shining Girls

By: Lauren Beukes
Narrated by: Christopher Ragland
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £15.50

Buy Now for £15.50

Season's Savings | £0.99/mo for 3 months

£5.99/mo after 3 months - terms apply. Cancel monthly

The jaw-dropping, page-turning, critically-acclaimed book of the year: a serial-killer thriller unlike any other from the award-winning Lauren Beukes. ‘GONE GIRL has not exactly gone. But THE SHINING GIRLS have arrived’ (The Times).

THE SHINING GIRLS is now streaming on Apple TV+, starring Elisabeth Moss and Jamie Bell

“It’s not my fault. It’s yours. You shouldn’t shine. You shouldn’t make me do this.”

Chicago 1931. Harper Curtis, a violent drifter, stumbles on a house with a secret as shocking as his own twisted nature – it opens onto other times. He uses it to stalk his carefully chosen 'shining girls' through the decades – and cut the spark out of them.

He’s the perfect killer. Unstoppable. Untraceable. He thinks…

Chicago, 1992. They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Tell that to Kirby Mazrachi, whose life was shattered after a brutal attempt to murder her. Still struggling to find her attacker, her only ally is Dan, an ex-homicide reporter who covered her case and now might be falling in love with her.

As Kirby investigates, she finds the other girls – the ones who didn’t make it. The evidence is … impossible. But for a girl who should be dead, impossible doesn’t mean it didn’t happen…

©2013 Lauren Buekes (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Action & Adventure Crime Fiction Crime Thrillers Mystery Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Thriller & Suspense Crime Fiction Suspense Exciting Scary Murder
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

‘A powerful thriller – imaginative, disturbing, tense, compelling reading’ The Times

‘I’m all over it’ Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl

‘Brilliant. A book about the duel of two fabulously realized characters. A triumph’ Independent

‘Clever story, smart prose’ Stephen King

‘Extremely creepy’ Mail on Sunday (‘Must Reads’)

‘Very smart, wholly original, completely kick-ass’ William Gibson

‘Engrossing as it is original, as rewarding as it is challenging. Superb – a beautifully layered work of fiction. Take the time to read this, it’s mesmerizing’ Sun

‘Utterly original, beautifully written. This is something special’ Tana French, author of In The Woods

‘Brilliant. Forget GONE GIRL, now it’s all about THE SHINING GIRLS’ Observer

‘Disturbing, smart and beautifully written’ Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus

‘This year’s must-read’ Stylist

‘A new kind of thriller. A dark, relentless, time-twisting, page-turning murder story. It shines’ Matt Haig, author of The Humans
All stars
Most relevant
Novel somewhat in the style of Stephen King (I mean that in a good way): supernatural, slow-burn but well-paced and interesting. Not outstanding: neither powerfully gripping, nor beautifully descriptive, nor intellectually intriguing. But a rewarding listen nonetheless. Oh dear, feels like I'm damning it with faint praise: not my intention, it's just that this book is neither "meh" nor "wow", it's simply a good read. And boy, there are plenty of very BAD reads out there, right Harlan?

Interesting read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The story itself is enjoyable enough but with an unsatisfying ending. However, the narration is dreadful. Christopher Ragland is a fine narrator when he sticks to his own voice but his male characterisations are bad and the the female ones are appalling. Every woman/girl whether she is a child, an architect, a transsexual, a drug addict or the sole survivor of a serial killer sounds like a cross between Mariliyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday Mr President and a muppet baby!

Completely awful characterisation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is an interesting take on the serial killer theme but I had to give up part way in because I couldn’t stand the simpering voices allocated to the female characters. I may have to get the book to finish it. Lots of male readers just soften their voices a bit and that’s usually enough. You can allow the listener to use their imagination.

Gave up

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
this is an excellent and gripping book, with characters you'll love and hate with a passion. however, the narration is a bit too much, very over the top and almost silly voices.

loved the book, didn't love the performance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
After reading reviews and hearing the author interviewed on Woman's Hour I was so excited to download 'The Shining Girls' and in many ways it did not disappoint. It is beautifully written and narrated and what a fantastic concept - a time travelling serial killer. I was a little concerned that this would take it into the sci- fi genre but crime fiction lovers can relax- it reads very much like a crime novel and I just accepted the time travelling element without question. I loved the chapters focusing on Kirby- a surviving victim- and her hunt for Harper the serial killer and these chapters were definitely the strongest part of the novel. The chapters focusing on Harper's victims were a little less successful as I did get a little confused around time and characters. This may however be to do with listening to rather than reading the novel. I was disappointed with the ending but it's hard to know how it could have been concluded. Overall though, a highly recommended listen by a brilliant author.

An intriguing concept

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews