GENRE: Historical Fiction/Mystery
MY RATING: 4 stars
SYNOPSIS: The year is 1915 and Pin, the fourteen-year-old daughter of an amusement park fortune teller, disguises herself as a boy to run with the teenage boys who thrive in the dregs of Chicago's street scene.
Unbeknownst to the well-heeled city-dwellers and visitors who come to enjoy its attractions, Riverview Park is also host to a brutal serial killer, a perfumed pedophile who uses the secrecy of a dark amusement park ride to conduct his crimes. When Pin sees a man enter the Hell Gate ride with a young girl, and leave without her, she knows that something deadly is afoot.
The crime will lead her to the iconic outsider artist Henry Darger, a brilliant but seemingly mad man obsessed with his illustrated novel about a group of young girls who triumph over adult oppressors. Together, the two navigate the seedy underbelly of a changing city to uncover a murderer few even know to look for.
MY THOUGHTS: This was a very interesting and enjoyable read. I read it in 48 hours, which is a miracle for me these days. I'm not entirely satisfied with the ending and how the killer was caught. That's what kept this from being a five-star read. I never suspected him until it became obvious. The author had him be too clumsy at times which I thought wouldn't have happened in real life, especially in broad daylight. I'd have absolutely loved some background information on him but we got none. In fact, none of the characters were well-written. I really like the amusement park setting but felt there were too many characters.
I didn't see the point of the author having the police briefly accuse a Black man of the crimes or make the lead, fourteen-year-old Pin, a lesbian as this plot had not one damn thing to do with her sexuality. It was put in there just to be put in there, maybe in hopes of getting put on some LGBTQ+ book recommendation lists. I don't like that Pin has a tie to the crimes/killer. Too coincidental for my liking.
