Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

What's the book about?

About 20 years ago, Libby Day lost all of her family in a mass murder event. She was the only survivor. That is if you don't count her brother who was accused of committing the murders and her father that was never really there. Libby has not cope well and as it turns out she has pretty much isolated herself from the world. This changes when she learns that the money she has been living with is almost gone and she meets "The Kill Club", a group of people obsessed with her family murders and convinced that her brother did not do it. Libby will talk to the people involved, something she has been avoiding all of her life, for a price. But as she digs in the mystery surrounding the murders all of what she believed might change.

What was the thing I liked the most? 

Flynn is very talented at telling a story. In this particular book, she decided to go with a double time line which allows us to see what's happening to Libby right now and then see what was going on with her brother and mother on the day of the murders. This was the part I enjoyed the most of the book, since it kept me going through the pages wanting to know what happen next.

What about the main character?

As was the case with Sharp Objects, the main character has serious issues that she has decided to live with. She knows she is messed up but does nothing to change this. She is not likable and she knows it, but she uses this to remain on herself. She will guide you, reluctantly, through her life and will be very protective of what she feels is her story and no one else's.

Final thoughts

I really liked Sharp Objects. As you advanced in it, the characters seemed more and more messed up but that made them more interesting. Unfortunately, the characters in Dark Places were not surprising. From the beginning they had issues, yet it didn't grow, it was always the same character. Although I wouldn't call the end predictable, it did not surprise me as it did on Sharp Objects. That said, it was a good book, just not an outstanding one. I already have Gone Girl and I'm hoping Flynn got her eeriness back on full mode!.