Joyland

I once heard someone say that Stephen King writes worlds that the reader can step into and live in for a while. Joyland is one of those worlds and may just be a new favorite King book for me.

I'm not a huge fan of your typical ghost story. However, despite the supernatural elements that so often show up in King novels, this is really less a ghost story and more a coming-of-age/slice-of-life tale - with a murder mystery. While there are certainly supernatural goings-on, this story is nearer in spirit, (pardon the pun), to The Body or Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption than it is to the more overt Christine or The Shining.

Speaking of the mystery... though I sussed out the killer fairly early, it did not detract from the rest of the journey. By the time I reached the denouement, I found Joyland had been a real page-turner that flew by all too quickly.