A very curious little mystery, with a girl who dresses as a boy teaming up with an ex-asylum inmate and folk artist to discover who is killing young girls. Set primarily in an amusement park with freak show and scary rides to add color, it also drops some early film stars into the mix and a touching family dynamic.great read ( )

Curious Toys is a beautifully written novel, with memorable characters, particularly our protagonist, a detailed and inhabitable historical setting, and a compelling story. Set primarily in a 1915 Chicago amusement park, author Elizabeth Hand touches on early cinema (Charlie Chaplain is a character in the story), carnival culture, and themes of identity. Rich in period detail and language, with a well-developed mystery at its center, this novel is a compelling, gripping read, a real page-turner.

In addition to this fantastic book itself, I am thankful to Elizabeth Hand for, in the pages of the tale and in the afterword material, making me aware of avant-garde performer Snakefinger, the outsider artist Henry Darger (he is a prominent character in the book), and the 1911 movie The Inferno. Curious Toys is a gift rich in delights. ( )

A story that takes place in my hometown of Chicago. I can picture many of the places even though the story takes place in a period long ago. Pin the main character is an unusual one but you will come to feel protective of them. I use the pronoun them because of an assumption I came to but you might see it another way. Murder, mystery, and memories are colored brilliantly in these pages. An amusement park that is well-known is the backdrop of this book. If you are from Chicago you are sure to catch yourself recalling the history around events in the city as well as street corners that will come to mind. A great little story.

DNF.
I am clearly in the minority, but I just couldn't slog through it. Probably my last Elizabeth Hand.
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Curious Toys by Elizabeth Hand was a great read. The author captures the era with her detailed historical details of 1915 Chicago and the Riverview Amusement Park in particular. The plot involves a serial killer in the Chicago summer of 1915 and the child protagonist that is tracking this killer. Pin is a fourteen year old girl who is concealing her identity by dressing and acting as a boy. Pin’s mother works long hours as a fortune teller so Pin is on her own and being a boy is safer than being a girl. Young girls have been disappearing from the streets of Chicago and now they are also disappearing from the Amusement Park. Pin’s sister had disappeared the winter before and her mother is anxious about keeping Pin safe.

This story is a wonderful mix of history and mystery. It is richly textured with multiple story lines that are easily followed due to the author giving her characters unique voices. The carnival setting is well done and we see both the make-believe glamour and the shabby side. The main character, Pin, is sympathetic, smart, and brave. She is not just trying to solve the case of the murdered girls, she is also trying to solve the puzzle of her own identity. Characters such as Charlie Chaplin, Wallace Beery, and Ben Hecht make appearances and artist Henry Darger plays an important role which adds to the feeling of reality.

Curious Toys was absorbing and intelligent. A thriller to be savoured. The book doesn’t move along at a rapid pace, instead much like a carnival ride, it unfolds in a series of ups and downs but in actuality the author has carefully plotted and delivered a story with imagination and heart. ( )