In 1930s Chicago, a drifter named Harper Curtis discovers the House, a portal that allows him to travel across decades. Guided by visions within the walls, he targets "shining girls"—bright, talented women—and kills them at specific points in their lives to sustain his access to the House. Across these various eras, he leaves artifacts from previous victims at the murder scenes. Kirby Mazrachi is the only woman to survive his assault. In 1992, she teams up with a former crime reporter, Dan Velasquez, to track her assailant through cold cases and impossible physical evidence.
Readers who enjoy gritty historical fiction and non-linear thrillers will find a dark examination of fate and causality. The narrative avoids typical procedural tropes by using the time-travel mechanic to link disparate lives across the twentieth century. Through Kirby’s perspective, the story focuses on the persistence of a survivor rather than the psyche of a killer. A reader finishes the book with a visceral sense of Chicago’s evolving urban landscape and the interconnectedness of historical trauma.
- Published
- 2013
- Language
- EN
