Gillian Flynn

Libby Day was just seven years old when her older brother massacred her family while she hid in a cupboard. Her evidence helped put him away. Ever since then she has been drifting, surviving for more than 20 years on the proceeds of the 'Libby Day fund'. But now the money is running out and Libby is desperate. When she is offered $500 to do a guest appearance, she feels she has to accept. But this is no ordinary gathering. The Kill Club is a group of true-crime obsessives who share information on notorious murders, and they think her brother Ben is innocent. Ben was a social misfit, ground down by the small-town farming community in which he lived. But he did have a girlfriend - a brooding heavy metal fan called Diondra. Through her, Ben became involved with drugs and the dark arts. When the town suddenly turned against him, his thoughts turned black. But was he capable of murder? Libby must delve into her family's past to uncover the truth - no matter how painful ...

Dark Places

After witnessing the murder of her mother and sisters, seven-year-old Libby Day testifies against her brother Ben, but twenty-five years later she tries to profit from her tragic history and admit that her story might not have been accurate.

sariya

"I just remember thinking I was in the middle of something that I'd never get over. And I haven't."

"I totally believe our blood is bad. I feel it in me... I've killed things... Half the time I look down, my hands are in fists."

"I was raised feral, and I mostly stayed that way."

"She never wrote Mommy, I thought, we never called her that as kids. I want my mommy, I thought. We never said that. I want my mom. I felt something loosen in me, that shouldn't have loosened. A stitch come undone."

"...worries were almost physical beings, leechy creatures with latchhooks for fingers, meant to be vanquished immediately."

"I am a liar and a thief. Don’t let me into your house, and if you do, don’t leave me alone. I take things. You can catch me with your string of fine pearls clickering in my greedy little paws, and I’ll tell you they reminded me of my mother’s and I just had to touch them, just for a second, and I’m so sorry, I don’t know what came over me. My mom never owned any jewelry that didn’t turn her skin green, but you won’t know that. And I’ll still swipe the pearls when you’re not looking."

"I was born bent out of shape. I could picture myself coming out of the womb crooked and wrong."

"I can never dwell on these thoughts. I've labeled the memories as if they were a particularly dangerous region: Darkplace."

"That's how screwed up you are, I thought. Your idea of adulthood still comes from picturebooks." 

"I was not a lovable child, and I'd grown into a deeply unlovable adult. Draw a picture of my soul, and it'd be a scribble with fangs."

"I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Slit me at my belly and it might slide out, meaty and dark, drop on the floor so you could stomp on it."

Dark places

Merry Rudinger

nothing life changing but interesting and thrilling

Nina

I am all for a thriller but maybe her writing just isn’t for me. I was nauseated during the first few chapters of the descriptions of their deaths. 

Sàrah Cearfoss

For some reason, I pictured Lyle as Irving from Phineas and Ferb 

Lindy

crime/thrillers are so hard to end after such a high of a journey 

akelo 

anna g

could not put it down but also continuously needed to either be in the sun or remind myself of love in the world while reading 
just binge read this while i had covid and WOW

A fine read but nothing more. The ending felt sloppy and rushed, and I thought it could be a bit more creative. To me, there was more time spent giving in depth details where they weren’t needed whilst other parts lacked cohesion. 

Tricia K

Haikal Satria

Not surprising ending, but pretty good anyway.

chloe rae

*4.5


Ok WOOOOOOW. That was WILD. 
I am a wreck after that book, man. I’m all anxious and tense and I keep saying “I JUST CANT BELIEVE IT” and gasping in awe and looking to my right to tell someone but I’m alone. 
This book is CRAAAAZY. I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this story and it just kind of grabbed hold of me and wouldn’t let go. This story is ROUGH and my stomach hurt literally the entire time because of how fucked up this story is. But I couldn’t stop reading! Even the way she decided to write the story is rough! The main character, Libby, is rough and raw and ANGRY and the author even depicted Kansas in this sort of rough, menacing light. This book is CREEPY. Ugh, she just nailed the atmosphere so good. I felt like I was in Kansas, in some creepy field witnessing some super creepy stuff. 
I don’t even know what to say about this book. It was hard to read at times because of the material, but the ending was SO GOOD. And the opening of this book is one of the best I’ve ever read: “I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.” SO GOOD. 
This book is not for the faint of heart but I just know that it will blow you away if you read it. I can’t wait to read everything else by Gillian Flynn.

esme villanueva

aburridísimo, tanto q me tardé tres años en terminarlo lmao

paula

Kath

I really loved it? I don't think its ending is shitty - maybe because I needed the last lines of the book in my life right now.

esperanza 

You know what Gillian Flynn, at the end of the day, is great at mystery and never once loses the reader in that sense. I think she definitely should’ve incorporated more of the Kill Club, or that aspect of these strangers treating Libby as an exhibit and not a human, but that’s just my opinion!!!!!

wauwa

The big reveal left me rather disappointed.

It took me forever to finish this but I do like Gillian’s writing. I enjoyed the idea but was left disappointed with how it all happened that night.

Kenzi Linton

I got this in a blind date with a book pick and finally started reading it after picking the name out in my TBR jar. I honestly am still trying to figure out how I feel about this book. It’s disturbing, graphic at times and just unexpected. It was long and I just wanted to get it finished so I could move onto the next book, though I was also curious about how it would end.

sarahnoronha

Brileigh Talbert

Interesting store line. Took a while for the story to pick up, and there were parts that dragged on.

Moth

THIS. BOOK. I'm so sad I didn't try pick it up sooner. Gillian is honestly one of the few authors who can still keep me on my toes, who can wrap me up in a mystery that's both exciting but terrifying. I honestly loved this book, loved the real, gritty characters that Gillian produces. They feel so real, you almost expect to see Libby out in the world, imperfect, bad tempered, and sticky fingered. 

Much like Gillian's other books, it felt like it ended too soon, that there was more that I needed to know and didn't get, but at the same time, that's life, you can't know everything. Gillian brings life to all her books. You just get a peak into this life for a short time and you're left with the answers, or most of them, that you are given at the start, and then you leave again, wishing for more. 

I didn't see the end coming exactly. I had a feeling on one of the parts, because even small things in a story aren't brought up without a good reason, and it turned out that was very much it. But I didn't see the other part. It took me by such surprise, I actually had to put the book down and just stared at a wall in utter shock. 

I need more of her books. Even now that I'm done, I miss her writing and her characters. I can't wait for her next books to come out.

After witnessing the murder of her mother and sisters, 7-year-old Libby Day testifies against her brother Ben, but 25 years later she tries to profit from her tragic history and admit that her story might not have been accurate. Reprint. A best-selling novel.

Peggy Walker

This is Gillian Flynn's second novel, although I read it last of her 3. It is a huge step up from Sharp Objects, and I thought it was a fascinating read all the way through. I read it in a day. This book features another tragic anti-heroine that lived through a horrific childhood. In this case, her mother and 2 sisters were murdered when she was 7....ostensibly by her 15 year-old brother. She has not seen her brother once since his conviction and has lived on donations from sympathetic strangers and a book revisiting the murders, but is now out of funds. She responds to an inquiry from a "Kill Club"...a group dedicated to revisiting and "solving" old cases. This sets in motion a journey to discover what actually happened that night....events that she heard but did not actually see. The story is told by Libby, the girl in question, in the present; by her mother relating the last 24 hours of her life; and by her brother Ben describing those same 24 hours. One of the most interesting things to me was the hoopla surrounding the case and trial set in 1985. They referenced the McMartin Preschool case, and this story also involved devil worship, satanic rituals, the sacrificing of animals and child molestation.[return][return]The McMartin Preschool was in the next town to mine, and the scandal broke when my daughter was preschool age. My pediatrician examined several children she believed were molested. We knew several of the families whose children were involved, and my daughter attended school with a few of the children. It was an unbelievable time...that preschool had a sterling reputation up until that time. After that there were stories that half of the preschools in the South Bay of SoCal were involved in a large cult and ring of pedophiles. I was never so happy to be part of a Co-Op preschool where all the parents took turns being the teacher's age. We knew out kids were safe!! [return][return]This book does touch on the mistakes that were made by well-meaning therapists and law-enforcement in the way that children were interviewed and prepared for trial testimony. It was all too easy to signal what they wanted to hear, and all too easy for the kids to give them what they wanted....they were scared and confused, mostly.[return][return]I agree with another reviewer that the ending was really a bit too neat. Too many loose ends just swept under the rug. One villian that came almost completely out of nowhere. Way too many unanswered questions. Still, it was an intense and interesting read. I did enjoy Gone Girl, and look forward to further refinement in Ms Flynn's writing.

Briar's Reviews

Gillian Flynn had another amazing hit with Dark Places. This novel, as I have heard, is the second book she read and it was one major step up from Sharp Objects. After reading and watching Gone Girl, I became hooked on Gillian Flynn and I needed more (and I still want more!). 

Her writing is addictive, well planned and thought out, and an amazing read for those interested in mystery and crime. 

This novel was much longer than Sharp Objects (her first novel), and I found that I did not guess the ending for this novel like I did her first. Her writing style is still in tact, but has clearly grown since her first novel.

I loved this book! I read it over and over as I tried to connect the dots of the mystery of who actually killed most of the Day family. I would suggest this novel to anyone who likes crime and mystery and a good read that will leave you hooked on every word.

There isn't much wrong with this novel, to be honest. There are some pieces of information I would have liked to know about certain characters (without giving away spoilers, the little girls who were associated with Ben. I would have liked to know about them as children and how they came up with their stories and what happened to them as adults. But, the information I wanted wasn't crucial to the story itself.). I would have liked to see what happened with Libby and Lyle, but that wasn't crucial to the story either.

Overall, I loved this book! I am begging for more Gillian Flynn right now!
Five out of five stars!

a good flynn novel, just maybe not better than sharp objects.

Gillian Flynn really knows how to make you hate a character. I’m pretty sure we’ve all meet a Runner at some point in our lives. I even found myself feeling heavily frustrated at Michelle. Diondra is just pure evil. Getting kicks off other people’s humiliation brought me back to my own teenage years. I’m glad that Trey made a turn around but I knew that Diondra would continue being absolutely wicked. Girl had no love or nurture at home so when she got pregnant every part of me was hoping it was just another one of her lies or that she’d miscarry due to her unhealthy lifestyle. 

I absolutely loved Lyle. Wasn’t sure what to think about him in the beginning but by the end of it he became my favorite character. His odd and quirky personality balanced things out for me. 

I rate it a 4.5 only because I knew from the beginning that there was more than one killer and Crystal’s age threw me off the way her character portrayed more childlike mannerisms than Michelle or Debby but she was 25.

Christa Bell

Gillian Flynn really knows how to make you hate a character. I’m pretty sure we’ve all meet a Runner at some point in our lives. I even found myself feeling heavily frustrated at Michelle. Diondra is just pure evil. Getting kicks off other people’s humiliation brought me back to my own teenage years. I’m glad that Trey made a turn around but I knew that Diondra would continue being absolutely wicked. Girl had no love or nurture at home so when she got pregnant every part of me was hoping it was just another one of her lies or that she’d miscarry due to her unhealthy lifestyle. 

I absolutely loved Lyle. Wasn’t sure what to think about him in the beginning but by the end of it he became my favorite character. His odd and quirky personality balanced things out for me. 

I rate it a 4.5 only because I knew from the beginning that there was more than one killer and Crystal’s age threw me off the way her character portrayed more childlike mannerisms than Michelle or Debby but she was 25.

Victoria

Yup, wasn't that interesting. Easily forgettable. I was hoping for something because, come on, this is Gillian Flynn, but nah. Disappointing to say the least.

Joana da Silva

É engraçadito dentro do estilo a que Gillian Flynn nos habituou, mas está a milhas de distância da excelência do Gone Girl.

The need to figure out the killer kept me hooked, but the incessant need to usual racial slurs murder the book itself for me. It read as white woman writing offensive stuff just because why not. It added no value to the story at all and was disappointing. The dabble of child molestation could have also been left out. It’s almost like she just wanted to cram as much nonsense into the story as possible, but there was so much going on that by the time the story resolved itself I was underwhelmed. 

Dark Places

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