Reddit reviews The Shining Girls: A Novel

The best book I read last year was Long Division by Kiese Laymon. It's a funny/sad book with time travel and a mystery. A young man becomes a viral sensation after an academic competition goes awry. Searching for a girl lost in the town where he is hiding out while waiting for the sensation to die down, he discovers a wormhole to the past. It's $10 for Kindle on Amazon, but I believe I read it via my local public library's ebook lending on Overdrive. http://www.amazon.com/Long-Division-Kiese-Laymon/dp/1932841725/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426713319&sr=8-1&keywords=long+division

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes was a fun read. The writing isn't bad, it's a mystery, and there is some timeline flipping. Another one that is available on Overdrive, if your library uses it. $9.99 for kindle. http://www.amazon.com/Shining-Girls-Novel-Lauren-Beukes/dp/0316216860/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426713345&sr=8-1&keywords=the+shining+girls

The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander is a mystery of sorts that is set in Argentina during the Dirty War. It is comical, sad and surreal, the story of a couple oppressed by their government, trying to save their son. $9.99 for Kindle. the ministry of special cases

The Dinner by Hermann Koch was recommended to me by someone who said it was like Gone Girl but for men. I'm not sure what that means, but it was a fast read, and relatively enjoyable. $4.99 for Kindle. http://www.amazon.com/Dinner-Herman-Koch/dp/0385346859/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426713379&sr=8-1&keywords=the+dinner

The Garden of Evening Mists by Twan Eng Tan is beautifully crafted and suspenseful. A Malaysian woman who devoted her career to trying Japanese WW2 criminals retires and returns to the estate where she convalesced from her time in a Japanese work camp during the war and learned the art of Japanese gardening under the tutelage of the exiled head gardener of the Emperor of Japan. The story is told largely through flashback and reveals a harrowing story of survival and a fantastic mystery surrounding her host/teacher at the estate. My synoposis makes it sound boring, but I couldn't put it down. $8.63 on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Evening-Mists-Tan-Twan/dp/1602861803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426713396&sr=8-1&keywords=the+garden+of+the+evening+mist

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The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

The book focuses on a 20s era thug who discovers a time-traveling house and jumps through decades, killing women. The other main character is a girl who survives one of the killers attacks and begins tracking him through history. The perspective shifts each chapter and, due to the time travelling, gives the reader several glimpses of historical Chicago.

The serial killer in The Shining Girls originates back in the 1920s.

Then you may also like The Shining Girls:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Shining-Girls-A-Novel/dp/0316216860

Though it is a bit tame to be honest (at least compared to other serial killer books).

definitely the dublin murder squad for me, by tana french, which i think i recommended a couple of weeks ago, too. that's a series. if you want a one-off, i'd say grab the shining girls by lauren beukes. and finally the gargoyle by andrew davidson.