A STUNNING NEW NOVEL FROM ONE OF THE BEST-SELLING AUTHORS OF ALL TIME! The #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life … change his life forever.
“I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts. That combo made Hard Case Crime the perfect venue for this book, which is one of my favorites. I also loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we’re going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book.” –Stephen King
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Joyland was like entering a funhouse, and not coming out until the book ends. A college student takes a summer job at an amusement park that is filled with mysterious happenings. Fun, fun read
For the better portion of my life, I’ve been a King fan. I think he can be, given the right material, a great writer. Other times, though, he’s just so-so. Unfortunately, JOYLAND falls more into the latter category. Don’t be fooled: although this is put out by an imprint focusing on noir crime thrillers, this is definitely not that. It’s more of a coming-of-age story with a long-ago unsolved crime attached. The book’s not bad–I enjoyed it. But it’s not great either. Honestly, I felt like this one was REALLY padded to novel-length. The major events could have been covered in a short story and the suspense and poignancy would have resonated more. As is, it feels bloated, even at its slim length. Too much repetition, way too much detail. If this wasn’t King, I may have not gotten past the first 100 pages or so, where nothing much beyond exposition happens. The last quarter of the book has some excitement, but if you’re looking for great Stephen King, look elsewhere. You’ll find it, but not here.
I pulled Joyland off my To-Read shelf. It contained all that I love about Stephen King’s work. Engaging characters, a narrator I felt was sitting down to tell me a story, nostalgia. It’s set in the 1970s when a college student dealing with a lost first love works at a carnival park for the summer and learns about an old series of murders. No blood and gore and plenty of suspense. And an unfolding story that draws you in. A great escape, especially during challenging times.
I’ve got a soft spot for stories in which a middle aged or older character writes about what it is to be young. I don’t know why. I just do. I’ve also just finished writing one (sort of), so that’s part of it. But when you take a writer who does character so beautifully, and you get a reminiscence novel from them, well, that’s a special thing indeed.
Also, I don’t know if it’s just practice, or that brush with death (ok, it was more than a “brush,” much more), or what. I used to love Stephen King’s novels and characters, but I hated his endings. I just hated them. Either I saw them coming (The Shining) or they just made no stupid sense to me (It). But something has changed. I watched “Bag of Bones” thinking I’d love the characters and hate the ending: wrong. I read 11/22/63 expecting same: wrong. So I started Joyland without expectations. I don’t know how to say this about a “hard case” crime/horror novel, but, geez, this book is beautiful. The story inspires love and longing of all the best kinds. And I didn’t see the ending coming until very late in the book and then I wasn’t sure and I didn’t WANT to see it coming because, like the young man our narrator once was, I had grown to love the characters. How did he DO that?
This is the first book of Stephen Kings that I have read.
I was drawn in from the beginning with the main character and surprised at how the story evolved at different levels. I had read a review and was drawn to the book because of the review and because it didn’t seem to be typical of what I thought was a book by King. It had an edginess and a sweetness that I wasn’t expecting.
Iii you have never read any of his books I definitely would recommend this as a starter.
I didn’t read Stephen King for several years– life got in the way of reading those big novels of his– but one day I found my way back with Under the Dome and I”m so glad I did! Because the next novel of his I read after that terrifically long book was this taut, delightful little mystery.
Joyland is set in one of those rundown small-town amusement parks that used to dot the landscape in the 60s and 70s. This particular amusement park is in North Carolina, a state I know well, so I was already endeared to the setting. Devin Jones is a college student looking to work as a carny for the summer. What he gets is part murder mystery, part ghost story, part coming-of-age relationship tale.
This is a very different book for King, which is to say that he can write pretty much anything and make it into something new and different. Joyland has stayed with me since reading it in a way other mysteries haven’t. The setting is almost a character in itself and I find myself feeling like I’ve really been to that little amusement park, I just need to search my memory for the details…
A must read for Stephen King fans, but also a must read for anyone who loves a mystery with a twist or ten.
Nostalgic and fun. Not a typical horror story from King. In fact while there is some supernatural elements this more about character and relationships.
I enjoyed this book very much. It was not a horror novel at all. It does have a ghost and a murder mystery, but it mostly was a great character driven summer novel. The main character was a nice, solid young man, and it was easy to spend time with him. I wish the story had been a little longer, but it was complete and had a solid finish. I listened to the audiobook which was perfectly narrated. I highly recommend this as a summer read.
I’ve had this book since it came out, but I never got around to reading it until yesterday. I don’t know why, just one of those TBR dilemmas, I suppose. It did me more than right on a Sunday afternoon. Great story, wonderful characters, as only King can do.
This was short for a King book. I liked it. Didn’t have the gore of most, but still a good read.
Great read
Not my favorite Stephen King book
I really enjoyed this book. This was a book where you just read it and reminisce about your first heartbreak and also try to catch a killer. No? Just me? Ok well I thought this story was intriguing none the less. For the most part, it was super relatable and also pretty touching. I really liked the paranormal aspect of it. This was the perfect read for the Halloween season.
Loved it – fun, creepy ghost story.
Dev needs a summer job and one just happens to fall into his lap. Joyland. Am amusement park in a small town in NC. Once there he falls in love with the atmosphere and the mystery. It’s more of an amusement park with a carnival vibe.
During one summer, way before Dev’s time, there was a murder and the carny’s say you can see Linda Gray’s ghost when you ride the Horror House. This has Dev intrigued, so much so that he wants to see her ghost.
Michael is a kid with MD that Dev sees pretty much every morning on his way to Joyland. Soon he becomes friends with him and his mom Annie. Michael has the sight and has eerie messages for Dev but doesn’t know what they mean.
And so begins the mystery solving adventure of Linda Gray’s ghost and her murder. Who killed her and why is her ghost hanging around? What connection does Michael have to all of this? Will Dev be able to solve the mystery and set Linda free?
What a great story. I love mysteries and I love the supernatural. This is a great read to add to your Spooktober list. It’s a little slow in the beginning but that’s Stephen King and those who love his writing like I do will understand. The setting of the amusement park is great. There is always a little mystery surrounding those, at least to me, and it fits the haunting story of the Carny Killer.
Joyland was a bit of a departure from the usual Stephen King novel. For one thing, although it had supernatural elements to it, it was at its heart a mystery. Also, I’ve never read a Stephen King book that took place in a carnival setting, although Joyland was technically an amusement park, it still seemed more like a travelling carnival. There was a good deal of carny lingo in there at the least.
The story’s protagonist, Dev, is a college kid who had just gotten his heart broken by his college sweetheart. He spends the summer far from his university working at an amusement park in North Carolina. The park has a haunted house type of ride that is actually haunted from a woman who was murdered while going on the ride—and that is the heart of the mystery in this novel. What shapes the story is when Dev sees the park’s fortune teller, who actually has some psychic ability, and she tells him that a young boy and girl will figure prominently in his future. As it turns out, this young boy, besides suffering from a debilitating disease, also has psychic abilities, and figures in his quest to solve the mystery of the haunted ride murder.
This was an enjoyable novel. It was really strong from a characterization standpoint. There were very memorable characters, from Dev on through numerous side characters. Although the mystery element was well done, most of the book did not focus on that part of it. Most of the book focuses on his evolving as a person and his relationship with the crippled boy and her mom—both of whom are also standout characters. I liked the supernatural parts of it, and thought it meshed well with the mystery. The one negative was a groan-inducing part at the end that involved the reveal of the killer, but otherwise this was a satisfying novel.
Carl Alves – author of Battle of the Soul
This quick read was, in my opinion, a great story. I enjoyed the nostalgic feel, the mystery, and the paranormal aspect. I loved getting to know about carnie life through the characters. I also really enjoyed Annie and Mike, this duo was interesting and fun to get to know. Overall a really fun and easy read.
I had a great time with this book. After refusing to read Stephen King for most of my life, I have a lot of catching up to do now that I realize I actually love his writing. I decided to pick up Joyland while I had some time off work for the holidays and found it to be a very entertaining way to spend a few hours. I am really starting to understand why Stephen King is such a popular author.
This story takes place in 1973 and is largely set at a small amusement park called Joyland. We get to spend the summer with 21-year-old Devin as he works at Joyland for the summer. Devin has a broken heart after being dumped by his college girlfriend but throws himself into his new job with gusto. I love that we get so see so many aspects of the park since Devin seems to work just about everywhere.
The characters in this book were fantastic. I loved getting to know Devin and I really felt like I knew him by the end of the book. The storytelling style of this book is as if Devin were telling us a story years after these events and at times he would meander and jump ahead a bit. I thought that this style really made the story feel authentic and added a lot of charm to the story. Devin’s friends at the park, his co-workers, and a little boy and his mom all had important roles to play in this story and I felt like King did a remarkable job of bringing each of them to life.
The story was a little slow to get moving with the first half of the book more focused on character development. The pace did pick up during the second half of the book and I was really interested in learning how the girl at been murdered in the park years earlier. I thought I had the mystery solved only to learn that I was way off base. I also thought that Devin and Mike’s relationship added a lot to the story. There were a lot of different elements that came together in this shorter work to tell a really amazing story.
I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a very well-told story with great characters, an interesting mystery, and just a touch of paranormal. I can’t wait to continue working on Stephen King’s amazing backlist.
What did I like about this book? It’s Stephen King, duh.
As usual Stephen King is the best