Dark Places

by Gillian Flynn

Book Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR - NOW IN DEVELOPMENT AS AN HBO LIMITED SERIES

From the acclaimed author of Gone Girl, "a riveting tale of true horror by a writer who has all the gifts to pull it off" (Chicago Tribune)

"Sensuous and chilling . . . a propulsive and twisty mystery."--Entertainment Weekly

Libby Day was seven when her mother...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307341577
• ISBN13: 9780307341570
• Release Date: May 2010
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

I mean, it’s Gillian Flynn…

It’s going to be great. It’s going to be suspenseful. You’re going to think you’re reading one story, and all of a sudden it’s turned on it’s head. I’ve not been disappointed a single time, and this one is *chefs kiss* in regards to suspense.

Love it!!!!

Loved it..read it in 2 days!!!!

Great book from a fantastic thriller author

Gillian Flynn never misses and this book is no exception! Dark, mysterious, unpredictable, and keeps you invested the entire way through.

Annoying Characters

I tried to love this book but just couldn't. The main character Libby is just so unlikeable she blames everyone everything and expects the world to cater to her to make up for her trauma. There were many times in which I had to stop reading because as time went on reading this book became more of a chore. Even the side characters were unlikeable. There was also not anything really remarkable in this book, just a frustraitng way to pass time.

Interesting

It was okay, some parts were predictable and very dark.

Well plotted thriller

This reads similar to a true crime story without the police procedural stuff. The three main characters Libby, Ben and Patty draw you into their world of generational poverty. It oozes off the pages. Everyone in this story lies. Some of those lies have terrible consequences. The author has a gift for bringing the reader to a world you know nothing about, yet completely empathize with.

Meh

It was decent Good story But it definitely wasn’t my favorite. Kind of boring.

Hmm...

Was not at all what I was expecting however it felt very rushed at the end. A ton of build up that kinda disappointed at the end.

Dark Places was so Thrilling that I couldn't put it down. I love the way it was written from present

I loved every bit of it! It keeps me on my toes!

Suspenseful

I loved the main character in this book- she is so sarcastic and bitter. Not only could I not put the book down, there was times I had to fight temptation to skip chapters because I wanted to know what happened so bad! The book tells its story from the view of multiple characters which gives you so many perspectives. Would definitely read again.

Very realistic

This book definitely isn't for kids. Really enjoyed how the author mapped out the events. The main character is written to be unlikable and that's what I liked so much about it. Satisfying ending.

Great read!

I really loved this book and got engulfed immediately. From the first page it has you hooked. The book jumps from past to present with different characters and it adds to the mystery.

Awesome Book!

I love this book. Gillian Flynn is a great new author. I love her dark side. She's definitely one of my new favorites (of course I still love Mary Roach). This book is one of those that you just can't put down! I can't wait until the next one. If you like this one you should read her other, Sharp Objects. Fabulous books!

Couldn't Put It Down!

I loved this book. Like the title implies, this is a dark story. But it is also a well written and very engrossing story. I really got drawn in by the mystery of who killed Libby Day's family. I liked Libby, she made an interesting heroine, even though her past had left her bitter and depressed. The book slowly unravels the mystery of what really happened by alternating Libby's story, her mother Patty's story, and her older brother, Ben's story. This is a great book with great character development. Give this book a try if you enjoy dark mysteries that delve deeply into the tragedy of a family, and the ramifications to those who survived.

Brutal, Evocative Murder Mystery, Deftly Plotted and Utterly Fascinating

Libby Day was seven years old when her mother and two sisters were massacred in a blood-soaked home invasion dubbed by the press as "The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas." It was Libby's testimony which put her then-fifteen-year old brother, Ben, into prison for the rest of his life for the heinous murders. Now, it is almost twenty-five years later, and Libby, depressed, angry and broke has agreed to attend a meeting of the Kill Club, a strange conglomerate of people obsessed with famous murders. Some of the Kill Club members have become interested in the murders of Libby's family because they are convinced that Ben has been wrongly convicted. After meeting with the Kill Club, Libby, although still sure that Ben is the murderer, decides to try to make some cash from her family's grisly history by charging the Kill Club members to interview people who might have further information about the murders. In hauntingly compelling prose, this wonderfully talented author deftly unfolds the story of what really happened during the early morning hours of January 3, 1985, and how searching for, and uncovering, that truth will change the lives of Libby and Ben. The book is told in an interesting intermittent flashback format, with Libby, tough and damaged from her horrific childhood, narrating the present-day chapters in first-person, while the flashback chapters, told in third-person, describe the actions of several key characters on one winter's day in 1985. Besides Libby, the most fascinating character in the book is that of Ben, the awkward, aimless, angry boy, tottering on the brink of manhood. Ben, yearning for the father-figure which he never had, and being raised in a poverty-stricken household by a single overwhelmed mother, surrounded by bothersome little sisters, is such a troubled, unlikeable protagonist. Yet this author makes the reader see the good in Ben and how much he wants to fit in, even as the story moves the angst-ridden teenager inexorably toward the unspeakable crimes which are at the center of the narrative. This author's prose style is unique, complex and utterly creative. She is almost Dickensian in her ability to paint a word picture of a situation or a character in a few phrases. For instance, in the first chapter Libby describes herself after the murders: "Little Orphan Libby grew up sullen and boneless, shuffled around a group of lesser relatives...stuck in a series of mobile homes or rotting ranch houses all across Kansas." When Libby sees her brother Ben for the first time in almost twenty-five years, she views him through the glass at the visiting room at the prison: "He looked so much the same, pale face, that Day knob of a nose. He hadn't even grown much since the murders. Like we all got stunted that night." This novel is a fascinating murder mystery, but it is so much more than that. It is a wise, evocative character study -- a glimpse into the lives of people who are lost and are struggling