I can take or leave Stephen King and prefer his earlier work to his later novels. Saying that I enjoyed this crime novel in what I would describe as an old fashioned pulp novel. The main character looks back at the summer when he was 21. The heart of the story focuses on the time he spent working at the carnival and the friendships that are formed there. He also learns that a young girl was murdered and her ghost has been been seen around the fairground and his preoccupation on this event. This is a nostalgic and reminiscent book primarily on youth and on first love and loss amongst many other strands that flow throughout the text.

Interesting read and fun~!

Joyland is a \\\"who done it\\\" mystery. Quick read. Not scary.

King once again writes in such a way as to place the reader right there in the scenes he describes. I found that I was able to relate strongly to numerous characters not only because I liked them, but also because I had a clear "image" of who they were and how they fit into the scheme of things. I could almost smell the greased wheels and motors of the rides mingled with the sea air... There were times where the book moved a bit slowly but in a way this added somewhat to the suspense.