Dark Places
Gillian Flynn, 2009
When Libby Day was seven years old, her mother and two older sisters were murdered in her home. The only survivors were Libby, who escaped the house and hid on the grounds, and her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, who Libby testifies is the one that killed her family. Now, twenty-five years later, Libby will, for the first time, look into what happened on that day, as she begins to wonder if maybe she had been wrong about her brother after all...
I had been meaning to pick up Flynn's earlier novels for a while, since before Gone Girl even came out, but after reading that one, I pushed her other books up my to-read list. While the writing in Gone Girl is better, as is bound to happen the more an author writes, I actually found the plot of Dark Places to be more fascinating - and that is saying something. I think it's simply that while Gone Girl sends you back and forth between two conclusions (did he kill her, did he not kill her), this novel is a lot more open, because if Ben didn't kill his family (which we're not completely convinced of), then who did kill them is not exactly clear.
I also really liked the way that this story was told, alternating between present-day Libby and the point of view of both Libby's mom and Ben from the days leading up to the murders. I also liked that, similar to Gone Girl, none of the characters were really all that likable. Even Libby I often wanted to punch in the face.
Overall, I thought this was a pretty great suspense novel and I will admit that I did not see the ending coming. I can't wait to pick up Sharp Objects as well, and will be looking forward to Flynn's next project.
I had been meaning to pick up Flynn's earlier novels for a while, since before Gone Girl even came out, but after reading that one, I pushed her other books up my to-read list. While the writing in Gone Girl is better, as is bound to happen the more an author writes, I actually found the plot of Dark Places to be more fascinating - and that is saying something. I think it's simply that while Gone Girl sends you back and forth between two conclusions (did he kill her, did he not kill her), this novel is a lot more open, because if Ben didn't kill his family (which we're not completely convinced of), then who did kill them is not exactly clear.
I also really liked the way that this story was told, alternating between present-day Libby and the point of view of both Libby's mom and Ben from the days leading up to the murders. I also liked that, similar to Gone Girl, none of the characters were really all that likable. Even Libby I often wanted to punch in the face.
Overall, I thought this was a pretty great suspense novel and I will admit that I did not see the ending coming. I can't wait to pick up Sharp Objects as well, and will be looking forward to Flynn's next project.
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