Joyland

All-time Best-selling Author

S T E P H E N   K I N G

Returns with a Novel of Carny Life—and Death . . .

College student Devin Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark truths about life—and what comes after—that would change his world forever.

Life is Not Always a Butcher’s Game.
Sometimes the Prizes Are Real.
Sometimes They’re Precious.

A riveting story about love and loss, about growing up and growing old—and about those who don’t get to do either because death comes for them before their time—JOYLAND is Stephen King at the peak of his storytelling powers. With all the emotional impact of King masterpieces such as
The Green Mile
and
The Shawshank Redemption
, JOYLAND is at once a mystery, a horror story, and a bittersweet coming-of-age novel, one that will leave even the most hard-boiled reader profoundly moved.

Acclaim For the Work
of STEPHEN KING!

“Excellent, psychologically textured . . . Stephen King is so widely acknowledged as America’s master of paranormal terrors that you can forget his real genius is for the everyday.”

—New York Times Book Review

“King has written . . . a novel that’s as hauntingly touching as it is just plain haunted . . . one of his freshest and most frightening works to date.”

—Entertainment Weekly

“Extraordinarily vivid . . . an impressive tour de force, a sensitive character study that holds the reader rapt.”

—Playboy

“Stephen King is superb.”

—Time

“Mr. King makes palpable the longing and regret that arise out of calamity, and deftly renders the kindness and pettiness that can mark small-town life.”

—Wall Street Journal

“King is a master at crafting a story and creating a sense of place.”

—USA Today

“A thoroughly compelling thriller.”

—Esquire

“Don’t start this one on a school night . . . You’ll be up till dawn.”

—People

“As brilliant a dark dream as has ever been dreamed in this century.”

—Palm Beach Post

“A great book . . . A landmark in American literature.”

—Chicago Sun-Times

“Stephen King is an immensely talented storyteller of seemingly inexhaustible gifts.”

—Interview

“A rare blend of luminous prose, thought-provoking themes and masterful storytelling.”

—San Diego Union Tribune

“Not only immensely popular but immensely talented, a modern-day counterpart to Twain, Hawthorne, Dickens.

—Publishers Weekly

“He’s a master storyteller. Gather around the pages of his literary campfire and he’ll weave you a darn good yarn.”

—Houston Chronicle

“King surpasses our expectations, leaves us spellbound and hungry for the next twist of plot.”

—Boston Globe

“Top shelf. You couldn’t go wrong with a King book.”

—Michael Connelly

“Stephen King is the Winslow Homer of blood.”

—New Yorker

“King has invented genres, reinvented them, then stepped outside what he himself has accomplished . . . Stephen King, like Mark Twain, is an American genius.”

—Greg Iles

“Stephen King is much more than just a horror fiction writer. And I believe that he’s never been given credit for taking American literature and stretching its boundaries.”

—Gloria Naylor

“To my mind, King is one of the most underestimated novelists of our time.”

—Mordechai Richler, Vancouver Sun

“King possesses an incredible sense of story . . . [He is] a gifted writer of intensely felt emotions, a soulful writer in control of a spare prose that never gets in the way of the story . . . I, for one (of millions), wait impatiently to see where this king of storytellers takes us next.”

—Ridley Pearson

“An absorbing, constantly surprising novel filled with true narrative magic.”

—Washington Post

“It grabs you and holds you and won’t let go . . . a genuine page turner.”

—Chattanooga Times

“Blending philosophy with a plot that moves at supersonic speed while showcasing deeply imagined characters . . . an impressive sensitivity to what has often loosely been called the human condition.”

—Newsday

“You surrender yourself . . . King engulfs you . . . and carries you away to 4
AM
page-turning.”

—A.P. Wire

“Enthralling . . . superb.”

—Dallas Times Herald

“A spellbinder, a compulsive page-turner.”

—Atlanta Journal

“Faultlessly paced . . . continuously engrossing.”

—Los Angeles Times

“A literary triumph . . . Read this book.”

—Milwaukee Journal

“Superbly crafted . . . extraordinary.”

—Booklist

“His writing has a lyricism, an evocative descriptive sweep . . . It’s a gift.”

—Columbia State

“Dazzlingly well written.”

—The Indianapolis Star

“King is a terrific storyteller.”

—San Francisco Chronicle

“By far the world’s most popular author . . . He never seems to use up the magic.”

—Chicago Tribune

I stashed my basket of dirty rags and Turtle Wax by the exit door in the arcade. It was ten past noon, but right then food wasn’t what I was hungry for. I walked slowly along the track and into Horror House.

I had to duck my head when I passed beneath the Screaming Skull, even though it was now pulled up and locked in its home position. My footfalls echoed on a wooden floor painted to look like stone. I could hear my breathing. It sounded harsh and dry. I was scared, okay? Tom had told me to stay away from this place, but Tom didn’t run my life any more than Eddie Parks did.

Between the Dungeon and the Torture Chamber, the track descended and described a double-S curve where the cars picked up speed and whipped the riders back and forth. Horror House was a dark ride, but when if was in operation, this stretch was the only completely dark part. It had to be where the girl’s killer had cut her throat and dumped her body. How quick he must have been, and how certain of exactly what he was going to do!

I walked slowly down the double-S, thinking it would not be beyond Eddie to hear me and shut off the overhead work-lights as a joke. To leave me in here to feel my way past the murder site with only the sound of the wind and that one slapping board to keep me company. And suppose . . . just suppose . . . a young girl’s hand reached out in that darkness and took mine . . .?

SOME OTHER HARD CASE CRIME BOOKS
YOU WILL ENJOY:

FIFTY-TO-ONE
by Charles Ardai
KILLING CASTRO
by Lawrence Block
THE DEAD MAN’S BROTHER
by Roger Zelazny
THE CUTIE
by Donald E. Westlake
HOUSE DICK
by E. Howard Hunt
CASINO MOON
by Peter Blauner
FAKE I.D.
by Jason Starr
PASSPORT TO PERIL
by Robert B. Parker
STOP THIS MAN!
by Peter Robe
LOSERS LIVE LONGER
by Russell Atwood
HONEY IN HIS MOUTH
by Lester Dent
QUARRY IN THE MIDDLE
by Max Allan Collins
THE CORPSE WORE PASTIES
by Jonny Porkpie
THE VALLEY OF FEAR
by A C. Doyle
MEMORY
by Donald E. Westlake
NOBODY’S ANGEL
by Jack Clark
MURDER IS MY BUSINESS
by Brett Holliday
GETTING OFF
by Lawrence Block
QUARRY’S EX
by Max Allan Collins
THE CONSUMMATA
by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
CHOKE HOLD
by Christa Faust
THE COMEDY IS FINISHED
by Donald E. Westlake
BLOOD ON THE MINK
by Robert Silverberg
FALSE NEGATIVE
by Joseph Koenig
THE TWENTY-YEAR DEATH
by Ariel S. Winter
THE COCKTAIL WAITRESS
by James M. Cain
SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT
by Max Allan Collins
WEB OF THE CITY
by Harlan Ellison

A HARD CASE CRIME BOOK
(HCC-112)
First Hard Case Crime edition: June
2013

Published by
Titan Books
A division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd
144 Southwark Street
London SE1 OUP

in collaboration with Winterfall LLC

Copyright © 2013 by Stephen King
Cover painting copyright © 2013 by Glen Orbik

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-78116-264-4

Design direction by Max Phillips
www.maxphillips.net

The name “Hard Case Crime” and the Hard Case Crime logo are trademarks of Winterfall LLC. Hard Case Crime books are selected and edited by Charles Ardai.
Printed in the United States of America

Visit us on the web at
www.HardCaseCrime.com

For Donald Westlake