Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Dark Places

Dark Places
Dark Places
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Paperback
sarahinme avatar reviewed on + 58 more book reviews


After reading Gone Girl (by Flynn) and liking it, but not loving it, I decided to take a stab at one of her earlier works. Flynn's writing style and storytelling is SO apparent, there would never be any mistaking that these were written by the same person. She has the same, slowly-unwinding storyline with lots of twists and turns, fairly unlikable characters (that's how life is! no one walks around like Meryl Streep all day), and a personal mystery centered around a highly-publicized tragedy.

Libby was thoroughly damaged, and who could possibly blame her? I felt sorry for Patty in the same way I feel badly for battered women- they do not have the willpower to stand up to those who knock them down in the first place, and this makes me pity them. Overall, the characters were well fleshed out, garnered a fair amount of pity and indulgence, and definitely made me excited to finish the book. Read it in one day- I was so curious to see what had really transpired that night!

The only thing I did not like about this book was how quickly she jumped into helping the Kill Club. After 24 years of suppression, I think dragging her out of her shell would at least take a few months, but who wants to read through that?

Anyway, a good thriller-mystery-family drama. Had a much more satisfying ending than Gone Girl, and slightly more sympathetic characters. The story was quite thrilling though, and who knows, maybe I will go back and read Sharp Objects now!