The Midnight Carousel

By Fiza Saeed McLynn

Book Overview

The Night Circus meets Water for Elephants in this enchanting, darkly glittering story of grief, obsession, revenge, and enduring love.

"My favorite book of the year " --Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary

"A stunning and magical debut from a talented new voice in fiction" --Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau

"A dark, seductive whirl of a tale." --Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Briar Club


1920, Chicago
Maisie Marlowe has come to America for a fresh start. After discovering an antique fairground carousel, she is seized by the idea of running a glittering amusement park. But little does she know that the wondrous object has a sinister past of its own.

Paris
A decade ago, fairgoers inexplicably vanished riding an extraordinary carousel, and Detective Laurent Bisset closed the case with a suspect behind bars. So when rumors of fresh disappearances in Chicago also linked to a carousel make their way across the Atlantic, Laurent sets out for new answers to an old mystery.

Maisie and Laurent both hold clues to this dark puzzle.

But can they piece it together before the carousel claims someone else?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0778305961
• ISBN13: 9780778305965
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Park Row
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

An Irresistible Ride!

This book absolutely sucked me in and I went for a wild ride on this magical carousel of a story! Told mostly from the viewpoint of Maisie with other bits by the French detective Laurent as they seek to discover the truth about the missing people and how it relates to a beautiful carousel with one special horse crafted by a grieving father. I really liked Maisie and her journey from being orphan in England to running the Silver Kingdom in America. She is sweet and strong and never gave up hope, even when faced with dark times due to the disappearances of the children. I had to keep reading and did not even notice new chapters because I had to find out what happened and why it was happening! Going between whether there was a sinister or supernatural element behind the disappearances, it did a wonderful job of keeping up the the suspense, while still being magical and bringing back the wonders of childhood when carousels are irresistible. This is an absolutely fantastic story and I highly recommend it for an unputdownable read! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this gem of a book!