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The Midnight Carousel

Author Fiza Saeed McLynn
Narrator Aysha Kala
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Run Time 11 hours and 56 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Historical crime and mysteries, Historical romance.

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE NIGHT CIRCUS MEETS WATER FOR ELEPHANTS IN THIS ENCHANTING, DARKLY GLITTERING STORY OF GRIEF, OBSESSION, REVENGE AND ENDURING LOVE
Come children, come children from far and near. Come choose your steed, you galloping knights, to enjoy the fun of the carousel . . .

Paris, 1914

Detective Laurent Bisset has reluctantly closed a most puzzling case. Fairgoers have been vanishing while riding a dazzling carousel. The only man who could be responsible is behind bars – but Laurent cannot explain what happened to those missing.

Chicago, 1920

Maisie Marlowe acquires a beautiful, antique carousel, and sets up the Silver Kingdom amusement park. It is a place of delight and wonder – until a child goes missing on its most famous ride.

When rumours of the Chicago disappearance reach Laurent, he crosses the Atlantic in search of new answers to an old mystery.

Together, can he and Maisie uncover the carousel’s secret before it claims another?

'An atmospheric, evocative adventure across the world. Stunning'
JANICE HALLETT
'Took hold of my heart and held me captive.'
ANYA BERGMAN
'What a special story this is. A brilliant, absorbing ride'
AMANDA GEARD
'I completely surrendered to its magic'
HESTER MUSSON

'My favourite book of the year. When I wasn't reading it, it was all I could think about.'
SARAH PENNER

'A beguiling mystery and a fabulous love story'
GARETH BROWN

'Intricate and enchanting'
FREYA BERRY

'I adored it . . . Readers are in for a treat'
MELISSA FU

'A lavish tapestry that weaves a compelling mystery into a timeless love story. Breathtaking'
HELEN FIELDS

'A truly magical book that kept me reading long into the night'
LOUISE HARE

© Fiza Saeed McLynn 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

I climbed on The Midnight Carousel and didn’t want to get off. It’s a beautifully constructed work of art as much as a journey through love and loss as an adventure across the world, atmospheric and evocative. A stunning debut.

Janice Hallett, bestselling author of THE APPEAL

A spell-binding tale spanning continents and decades, which took hold of my heart and held me captive. Compulsive and heartrending, both love story and page-turning mystery, at the heart of The Midnight Carousel is an unforgettable heroine who has stayed with me long after I turned over the last page.

Anya Bergman, author of THE WITCHES OF VARDO

My favourite book of the year! I devoured Fiza Saeed McLynn’s debut in just a few days, and when I wasn’t reading, it was all I could think about. The Midnight Carousel is the sort of book that made me fall in love with historical fiction: it’s vivid, mysterious, alluring. I can’t remember the last time I felt so invested in unravelling the mystery at the heart of a story. An absolute delight.

Sarah Penner, bestselling author of THE LOST APOTHECARY

I LOVED The Midnight Carousel and devoured the entire book in a few days. What a special story this is, full of atmosphere and intrigue, lifted to dizzying heights by Fiza’s lyrical writing. Carousels might well spin, but this one wove its way through time and space, plaiting the tale together. A brilliant, absorbing ride, one of the most atmospheric novels I’ve read in a long time.

Amanda Geard, author of THE MIDNIGHT HOUSE

A gorgeous, unforgettable, lavish tapestry of time, place and character that weaves a compelling mystery into a timeless love story. Breath-taking! Deft, assured, fluid writing and a confidence that promises many more brilliant books to come.

Helen Fields, author of the D.I. Callanach series

The Midnight Carousel whirls the reader around to unexpected places – a moving story of survival and love, with an ingeniously contrived mystery at its heart. I completely surrendered to its magic.

Hester Musson, author of THE BEHOLDERS

Intricate and enchanting

Freya Berry, author of THE DICTATOR'S WIFE

The Midnight Carousel is an outstanding debut, full of everything I love in books: beguiling mysteries, a rich sense of place and time, characters to love and to hate, and a fabulous love story. I adored it.

Gareth Brown, bestselling author of THE BOOK OF DOORS

About chance encounters, colliding fates, love and loss, and shimmering throughout with delicious, dark mystery, this is a fast-paced, elegantly written read.

The Bookseller

I adored Fiza Saeed McLynn’s debut novel, THE MIDNIGHT CAROUSEL. Evoking both Jazz age Chicago and turn-of-the-century Paris, this immersive novel braids stories of love, found family, and loss around a mysterious, exquisite carouselat its centre. The pace expertly conceals and reveals secrets as it gathers momentum to its unexpected, but deeply satisfying conclusion. Readers are in for a treat with this captivating carnival ride of a novel!

Melissa Fu, author of PEACH BLOSSOM SPRING

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