A headshot of Fiza Saeed McLynn next to the cover of her book 'The Midnight Carousel,' featuring an illustration of a red carousel against a night sky.
Fiza Saeed McLynn and the cover of debut novel, “The Midnight Carousel.” Credit: Courtesy of Tombolo Books

Tombolo Books’ first event of the year celebrates Fiza Saeed McLynn’s debut novel, “The Midnight Carousel.”

Praised as “The Night Circus” meets “Water for Elephants,” this novel set in 1920s Chicago and Paris follows an orphan as she acquires a sinister antique carousel that makes people disappear. A French detective investigates the carousel’s connection to a decade-old Parisian mystery.

There’s perhaps no Tampa Bay resident better to interview McLynn than Sarah Penner, author of bestselling historical mysteries “The Lost Apothecary,” “The London Séance Society” and “The Amalfi Curse.”

Penner also blurbed “The Midnight Carousel,” calling it her favorite book of 2025.

“I can’t remember the last time I felt so invested in unraveling the mystery at the heart of a story,” Penner wrote.

There’s no cover, but online RSVPs and advanced book purchases are requested for The Midnight Carousel: An Evening with Fiza Saeed McLynn, happening Tuesday, Jan. 13 in St. Petersburg.

The Midnight Carousel: An Evening with Fiza Saeed McLynn

Time Tue., Jan. 13, 7-8 p.m.

Location Tombolo Books, 2153 1st Ave S., St. Petersburg

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This article appears in Jan. 01 – 07, 2026.

Selene San Felice is managing editor of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Prior to joining CL in 2025, she started the Axios Tampa Bay newsletter and worked for her hometown paper, The Capital in Annapolis,...