First Published: May 2009
Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books
349 pages (hardcover)
I read Gillian Flynn's other novel, Gone Girl, a year or two ago and I loved it. Loved the movie too. So I was pretty excited to start Dark Places as well, though I kept my expectations low because I never heard anything about this one before. Luckily, this novel is just as dark, creepy and amazing as Gone Girl.
Dark Places stars a 32 year old woman named Libby Day. When she was a child, her mother and two sisters were violently murdered in what was later known as the Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas. Libby was the sole survivor and her brother, Ben, was sent to jail as the killer. Libby testified against him.
25 years later, Libby's running out of money. She's never really held a job, instead, just living off of donations people gave her for being the poor, sweet girl with no family now. The thing is, she is no longer a poor innocent sweet girl. She's grown to be self-centered, uncaring and a bit of a kleptomaniac. Of course, now that she's 32, the murders are no longer on the forefront of anybody's mind anymore, and nobody's donated money to her for a long time now.
Looking for a source of money, Libby encounters The Kill Club, a group of people who are obsessed with real life crime mysteries (like serial killers and stuff). They are ecstatic to meet Libby (for a price, of course) and want to buy "memorabilia" off of her related to the murders. Motivated by money, Libby agrees to revisit some people in her past and see if she can dig up any new information about the night of the murders. As Libby half heartedly investigates, Libby begins to feel that perhaps her brother Ben isn't the murderer after all ... and that the murderer is still out there.
The best thing about this novel are the raw, damaged characters. Nobody is perfect in this book; in fact, most of the characters are downright unlikable -- on paper, anyway. Let's take the main character Libby for example. Sure, she's the victim of a heinous crime, but it's hard to feel much sympathy for her as an adult. She's rather dysfunctional as an adult, not knowing how to fit in society, stealing, taking advantage of people, etc. She just flits from one source of money to the next. And you know exactly why she's all messed up (troubled childhood, hello?) And yet, you are rooting for Libby to solve the mystery. You are rooting for her to come out of this victorious. Maybe reunited with her brother. I have to give kudos to the author for creating a character that on the outside seems so shallow but still manages to draw the reader into her world and make us care about whether or not she accomplishes her goals.
As for the actual mystery, I was definitely surprised at the end of the novel to discover 'whodunnit'. I was also a little let down because it was kind of an anticlimactic discovery, but maybe that's just me.
I am a big fan of Gone Girl and now, Dark Places as well. Safe to say I'll probably read anything by Gillian Flynn, haha. If you like mystery/crime/thriller types of stories with characters that are genuine and raw, read her books!
My Rating: 4/5
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