I decided to read Dark Places (2009) by Gillian Flynn because I was so impressed with Flynn after reading Gone Girl. And I’m still impressed with Flynn’s writing, although Dark Places was not always as much of a page turner for me. That and every single one of her characters was so disturbing and flawed that I started losing my faith in humanity.
Libby Day was only seven years old when her mother and two sisters were murdered at her farmhouse one night. Libby barely escapes by climbing out of her mother’s window and hiding in the freezing woods until dawn. Later, her testimony helps to convict her fifteen-year-old brother of the crimes. About 25 years later, circumstances collide to force Libby to revisit what might have happened that night. The book shifts between Libby’s present-day perspective and her mother and brother’s stories from a couple of days before the murders. While reading, I was most interested in Libby’s present-day sleuthing. I was always a little disappointed when I started a new chapter and I was back in the mother’s depressing existence. Although once I got into them, all of the chapters were interesting.
Again, there was a lot to be impressed with in this book. For more detail, click here.
Cannonball Read V 