Stephen King is a bestselling novelist who made his name in the horror and fantasy genres with books like Carrie and The Shining. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, King published a handful of short novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The idea behind this was to test whether he could replicate his success again and to allay his fears that his popularity was an accident. After a lamentably uneventful 2012, Stephen King kicks off what looks to be an unusually huge year for fans of the master of modern pop horror with a small but perfectly formed mystery novel. Joyland is the second story King has written for Hard Case Crime. The novel opens in 1973 when Devin Jones, a student at the University of New Hampshire, makes his first visit to a North Carolina amusement park called Joyland. He’s hoping to earn some money taking a job at Joyland and is also trying to distract himself from the knowledge that his girlfriend Wendy will be spending all summer away from him, working in Boston with a friend. Devin is hurt that Wendy has chosen Boston over North Carolina and spending the summer with him. Devin rides some of Joyland’s rides and decides to take the job. His interview is conducted by the park’s fortune teller, Madame Fortuna, who tells him he will meet two special children that summer. One will be a girl with a red hat, and the other will be a boy with a dog. One of those children is gifted with the Sight… You can listen online to free English audiobook “Joyland” by Stephen King on our website. Enjoy it!
