Halloween Reads: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn.

Book: Sharp Objects

Author: Gillian Flynn

Pages: 349

Read On: Paperback

How Long It Took Me To Read: 2 days

Plot Summary: Libby Day was just seven years old when her evidence put her fifteen-year-old brother behind bars.

Since then, she had been drifting. But when she is contacted by a group who are convinced of Ben's innocence, Libby starts to ask questions she never dared to before. Was the voice she heard her brother's? Ben was a misfit in their small town, but was he capable of murder? Are there secrets to uncover at the family farm or is Libby deluding herself because she wants her brother back?

She begins to realise that everyone in her family had something to hide that day... especially Ben. Now, twenty-four years later, the truth is going to be even harder to find.

Who did massacre the Day family?

General Thoughts: I read this book some two-three years ago, around the time Gone Girl came out and there was all this insane buzz about the author. I couldn't get my hands on Gone Girl at the time and read this instead. Gone Girl is reviewed HERE if you are interested. 

This is my favourite Gillian Flynn book out of all her three. And I mean favourite in not the strictest sense. I am not a fan of Ms. Flynn at all. But I liked this book. 

Things I Liked: 

1. The premise of this book really drew me in. One always reads about families massacred by their own family member in newspapers and on the TV. Sometimes there are survivors and I often wonder how they move on? Can they move? After something so horrible happens to you, is it possible to make a new life for yourself? I was very curious to read about Libby Day and her life. 

2. The book switches from present day to the days leading up to the Day family massacre, this was a good way to tell the story. 

3. Apart from seeing the Day family struggling to make ends meet in the past, we also see Ben and his life. It was nice seeing the world of our alleged killer. 

4. Libby Day was a piece of work. Messed up, greedy, lazy and way too happy being the victim. She was utterly unlikable. But I guess if you go through something so traumatic and lose your whole family in one go, you might not grow up to be sweetheart! 

Things I Didn't Like: 

1. Flynn only writes unlikable characters. Not one person in this book is likable. Like really, if all of them got hit by a truck I couldn't care less. I wasn't cheering for or rooting for anyone in this book. 

2. The end of this book, the big reveal was a bit...a bit unrealistic. Like really far fetched. 

3. The reason for Ben taking the fall was so silly. Why would a 17 year old boy take the fall for murdering pretty much his entire family? Get labelled a mass-murderer...no matter what the reason! 

4. Libby clearly remembered a whole lot more and some evidence that would have cleared Ben from the get go, why did she lie at trial? I get that she was a child at the time but she clearly hid a lot. 

Rating: 3/5