Dark Places ✦ Gillian Flynn

I love thrillers and mysteries. I obsessively listen to true crime podcasts and shows and discuss murder with my friends like it’s not a taboo topic. I feel like it’s only fair, then, that thrillers and mysteries will be the most heavily reviewed on this blog. You’ll just have to deal. *shrugs* Maybe you’ll end up as obsessed as me! 

I’m going to cheat a little bit with this one. I’m not currently reading it, but I’ve seen so many people, sites, and bookstagrams recommend it that I wanted to contribute my two cents. I picked up Dark Places late last year because the reviews and the synopsis caught my eye. After reading Gone Girl, I assumed Gillian Flynn would knock my socks off with this one as well! What happened was a deep hate for the protagonist, an indignant concern for the criminal justice system, and a “twist” that was actually dark and twisty. I still liked it! I actually would probably recommend to someone else! That’s a strange way to word it Morgan. Yes, dear reader, it is, but I started off writing this review as a negative and halfway through realized that truthfully it was a good book and well written and talked myself into liking it. 

Synopsis: Libby Day survived the brutal and bloody murder of her mother and sisters when she was just seven years old. She promptly points the finger at her brother Ben and at fifteen, he is sentenced to prison. Twenty-five years later, Libby is just trying to survive a miserable life and make ends meet when a secret society of murder enthusiasts approach her about clearing her brother’s name. What follows is a dark and winding path that puts Libby back in the cross hairs of a killer. Not all is as it seems. Prepare for satanism, small town biases, macabre murders, and characters you’ll love to hate. 

What I like: This is a very well written and easily paced book. It is very descriptive and detail oriented and you will keep reading despite the obvious disgust for every person involved. There are absolutely parts that are a little too pictorial but I prefer it that way. It helps with the scene building in my head. You know those movies and shows that are produced in low, bleak colors to add to the ambiance? That’s how I pictured this entire book. I love that the story line is not predictable. I had one of those moments where I had to put the book down and just stare off into space wondering where I went wrong when the killer is revealed. You’ll go back and forth on your feelings about Ben. He did it, obviously. Or did he? Clearly, he did…. but wait… We see the crime from multiple perspectives and jumps back in history to aid with the buildup to death day.  Also, justice is served! 

What I didn’t: Libby Day is literally the worst human being on the planet. I get being downtrodden from life but honey, get it together. In the first chapters we see Libby contemplating suicide because the money she’s accrued from banking off her life story (crappy human alert) has run dry and she knows she could never hold down a real job. We then immediately progress to Libby being jealous of a child that had her face burned off and stole her thunder. What?! She is cynical and tactless and that’s just the protagonist. Trust me when I say you won’t actually like anyone involved in this book. That’s probably my biggest con. The characters suck as human beings and the book is bleak until its last pages.  

Overall, worth the read! Just beware, it can be disturbing.