Monday, August 6, 2012

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Once I read Gone Girl and realized how wickedly twisted Flynn is, I had to read another one of her books.  Dark Places did not disappoint...

The story involves a young woman, Libby Day, whose entire family (mom and two sisters) are killed in a horrific murder scene right out of In Cold Blood.  Yep, think small mid-west farm town, violence, blood on walls, the whole enchilada.  We meet Libby many years later, as her brother has rotted in prison for over twenty years for this horrific crime.  Libby is one messed up girl.  Anger management issues, sticky fingers, poor financial management - and that's putting it nicely.  Libby meets up with some freaky-deaky true-crime followers who want her to recant her testimony and figure out who really killed her family, as they believe her brother, Ben, to be innocent.  This sends Libby on a rather interesting journey of her past.  We see the story through many eyes - grown up Libby and then both her brother and her mother on the day of the murders.  This story brings the idea of a dysfunctional family to a whole new level.  I'm not sure there's any redeeming qualities to any of the characters, and perhaps my sheer love of black comedy wins out, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  It's a bit of a slow start but then it gets going around page fifty or so.  If you like rather twisted characters, issue-laden relationships, and a mystery surrounding everything, you'll love Dark Places.  

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