Reviews for Elizabeth Hand’s upcoming historical crime novel Curious Toys are coming in, and they include words like “thrilling,” “richly imaginative,” and “deliciously unsettling.” (You’ve pre-ordered your copy, right?)
Library Journal gave the novel a starred review, saying:
The historical details are fantastic, as are several cameos by real-life figures besides Darger. When readers reach the end of this thrilling adventure, they’ll see how every choice has been perfectly made. Hand is a mage of the page. The gritty mise-en-scène and realistically portrayed characters in her novel will enchant those who like tough-girl protagonists and antiheroes, as well as fans of historical crime fiction.
Read the entire review at Library Journal.
Kirkus Reviews calls the book “richly imaginative and psychologically complex”:
To call the novel and its characters “colorful” is a terrific understatement. A carnival setting immediately allows for a higher threshold of the bizarre, but Hand skillfully develops each character beyond mere oddity or empty sensation. Most of all, Pin is an engaging, courageous heroine, and her musings on gender identity are both poignant and relevant.
Read the entire review at Kirkus Reviews.
And Booklist also gave Curious Toys a starred review:
Hand expertly plays the excitement of Chicago’s burgeoning entertainment industry against the killer’s unsettling obsession with dolls, twisting the story even darker by pairing Pin with Henry Darger, a freshly released psychiatric patient who claims he’s on a mission to save Chicago’s girls. A well-crafted and deliciously unsettling period thriller that will find fans among those who enjoy Caleb Carr’s mix of early modern technology and investigative action.
Link to come.
You can pre-order Curious Toys from your local bookstore or from your favorite online retailer. Find links on the Curious Toys page.