Shock, wonder, and a touch of darkness await.
I chose this one to review next because it brought something entirely different to my reading year. It gripped me from the start with its dark mystery, yet beneath the shadows were threads of hope, love, and resilience that lingered long after I turned the final page.
There was a moment when I caught myself wondering if I’d somehow slipped into a horror story. I did a quick, careful search (tiptoeing around spoilers) and confirmed it wasn’t. Still, it managed to keep me right on the edge of my seat.
I remember hosting a sleepover for my girls and their cousins, and while they buzzed around me long past bedtime, I curled up on the couch and read straight through the night. I simply couldn’t tear myself away.
I was so engrossed that I narrated half the plot to my husband as I read, updating him with every twist. When I finished and told him the full story, my youngest looked a little alarmed, which says everything about how deeply I had sunk into the world Fiza Saeed McLynn created.
This was the last book I read in 2025, and I tore through it because I needed answers, closure, something to steady the chaos of the plot. It made me realise how stories often push us toward connection, and how, when something moves us deeply, we instinctively reach for someone who can hold that feeling with us.
Why this one caught my eye
What first drew me in was the cover: a deep, almost black shade of blue scattered with stars, a full moon glowing softly above the pointed top of a carousel. The book itself is slightly larger than most paperbacks, with a comfortably spacious font that makes reading feel unhurried.
And right at the top, Sarah Penner’s praise, “My favourite book of the year… An absolute delight,” added just enough intrigue to make me reach for it without hesitation.
The cover warns “Step aboard if you dare,” which didn’t exactly help when I briefly wondered whether I’d wandered into a horror novel.
A quick look at the book
The Midnight Carousel is the debut novel of Fiza Saeed McLynn, who was born in Pakistan to an English mother and Pakistani father before later settling in London.
Blending historical fiction, fantasy, and mystery, the story unfolds across 348 pages and explores themes of loss, grief, love in its many forms, hope, resilience, injustice, hidden truths, unresolved wrongs, classism, and the complicated tangle of blame and revenge.
Although still finding its readership, the book has earned a warmly positive response from a small but engaged group of readers on Goodreads.
Its narrative moves between timelines and shifts between Paris, France and Chicago, America, adding a sense of movement and atmosphere to the mystery at its core.
The mystery pulls you in tightly, and the shifting timelines keep you curious and alert.
What stayed with me
I found myself constantly wondering what on earth was going on, and the reveal was so unexpected that I had to pause and absorb it.
Reading this story made me reflect on how much of life comes down to the choices we make in the dark, whether we forgive, whether we keep going, whether we let grief swallow us or try to find a sliver of hope. So many of the characters endure more than seems fair, and the book doesn’t pretend otherwise. It made me want to dig deeper, to be braver, to hold the people I love a little tighter. We hear it often, but this felt like a real reminder that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. The moments we have matter, and they matter now.
This story made me think about how pain reshapes us, how our losses, traumas, and heartbreaks influence the way we show up in the world. People carry so much, often more than we realise, and those weights shape their relationships in tender and complicated ways. It is a reminder of how much strength it takes simply to keep loving, keep trying, keep going.
As I followed the main character through each hardship, I found myself rooting for her with a kind of fierce tenderness. You connect with her from the very first chapter, drawn to her quiet resilience and the way she keeps moving forward even when life feels unbearably heavy. You want her to rise, to uncover the truth, to survive the shadows that follow her.
What struck me most was how she doesn’t crumble, even when she has every reason to. She keeps trying to heal, to rise, to build something resembling a life. That quiet grit moved me. It made me reflect on how often we underestimate our own ability to endure, and how courage sometimes looks like getting up and facing the day when you would rather disappear. Her strength felt like a reminder I needed.
One sentence in particular captured the heart of the story for me:
Perhaps one day she will become as polished as the smooth stones scattered along the shoreline, rubbed new by the tides.
The supporting characters are richly drawn, a blend of personalities you either love, despise, or quietly puzzle over. The male leads stand out too, grounding the story with strength and complexity.
Some moments feel deeply unfair. Some characters carry heartbreak that sits heavy on the page. The emotional threads of grief, longing, and injustice are woven with care, and the magical elements add a layer of wonder without ever overshadowing the human story.
It reminded me how grief can reshape a person, sometimes pushing them toward choices they never imagined.
Who it’s for
This is a wonderful choice for readers who enjoy dark, atmospheric mysteries or historical fiction with layered timelines and a touch of magic woven through the emotional threads.
While the story is rich and compelling, it does delve into sensitive themes like loss, death, grief, suicide, racism, and murder. These are handled with care, but worth noting for readers who prefer gentler narratives.
Where to find it in South Africa
I found my copy at Exclusive Books, and online orders seem to arrive quickly, so getting hold of it should be simple whether you prefer browsing in store or ordering online.
My verdict
I’d recommend this without hesitation. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
The Midnight Carousel is a wonderful choice for readers who enjoy dark, atmospheric mysteries with clever twists and emotional depth.
If you are in the mood for a story that slips between timelines, crosses oceans, and unravels a mystery piece by piece, this one is worth exploring. And if you need that quiet reminder to keep being brave, to hold on to hope even when life feels heavy, this book offers that too. It is a journey through shadows, but one that leaves you with a soft, lingering light.
If you pick this one up, come back and tell me what you thought. I love hearing how different readers experience the same story, especially one as layered as this.
From my shelf to yours,
J
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