Joyland

Paperback, 285 pages

English language

Published June 9, 2013 by Hard Case Crime.

ISBN:
978-1-78116-264-4
Copied ISBN!

View on OpenLibrary

3 stars (4 reviews)

College student Devin Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark truths about life - and what comes after - that would change his world forever.

A riveting story about love and loss, about growing up and growing old - and about those who don't get to do either because death comes for them before their time. It is at once a mystery, a horror story, and a bittersweet coming-of-age novel, one that will leave even the most hard-boiled reader profoundly moved.

7 editions

cliche done well?

3 stars

Enjoyed this summer job coming of age storytelling, my first King in a long time. There's much intentional cliche, with smart perspective, but I felt the constraints of turning this towards mystery and murder dragged at the more central story around how we grow our sense of relationship and friendship after those first crushed crushes.

Review of 'Joyland' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A solid murder mystery set in a theme park in the 70s. Pretty much a coming of age story as 21-year old Devin works in the park before starting college, falls in love with the carny ways and learns about the murder of a young woman in the 60s in Haunted Horror House.

Not his best work, but I was entertained enough and enjoyed the characters and the resolution.

Review of 'Joyland' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

3 stars is about right. I definitely enjoyed the story. There were interesting characters and a terse tight plot. I actually guessed the culprit, but not through the clues, but the psychological trail. All those women were charmed. When Jonesy suspects Eddie but realizes it was a bad choice, I started asking myself if there was someone that fit the bill better and the answer leapt out. The actions afterward solidified my opinion so I wasn't too surprised.

A bit of a deux ex machina to save him, but if you except psychic revelations - as you are asked to from the beginning - being valid, you won't have a problem with the plot.

Not a bad story at all but definitely it was not a horror story, despite the actions of spirits from beyond, so if that's what you are looking for, choose one of his other books. On …

avatar for urmaul

rated it

4 stars