Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Dark Places

I really liked it, I think I was just expecting…. more. Sharp Objects worked so well for me in a way that this book just couldn’t. But Gillian Flynn’s prose and her ability to keep you enraptured will always be impressive to me. In this novel, she can keep you hooked until you actually begin to uncover the truth, and it all sort of… falls apart. The ending is what we are all searching for, the climax, the answers to all of our questions. But she doesn’t give us a chance to absorb it, let it linger, or consider all of the consequences of this deep string of lies.

It’s immediately resolved—Ben is freed, and Aunt Diane forgives her.

I want to soak in the moment we are able to piece everything together. I want to feel the moment deeply, but we aren’t given the chance.

But while the ending may have felt rushed, the journey there was anything but. Every little clue means something, and every page points to something deeper. Flynn gives us the information little by little; she doles it out in tiny doses, dangling the answers in front of us like a seasoned expert. She knows where to push, and where to pull back. I find myself impressed by this at the end of every chapter, and I think I’ll keep this awe throughout the rest of her novels.

I may need to sit with this novel a bit longer. I don’t know how much i skimmed over or haven’t absorbed fully, but I trust that there’s more to this novel than its initial read-through.

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sunsetsam723's review against another edition

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dark tense

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

Wow, talk about a page-turner. It’s been years since I read Gone Girl but I still remember how blown away I was by that halfway-through plot twist, so I had high hopes for this one and I was not disappointed. I love how fitting the title “Dark Places” is, how we are drawn in and sunken into the pathetic depravity of Libby’s life and the lives of those around her who shaped and were shaped by The Murders. The alternating perspectives each chapter between present and past was expertly done, extending the suspense and deftly revealing details from the right characters at the right times. I’m impressed by how far into this book I STILL could not definitively say I knew who had done it, not until Flynn wants to finally clue you in that the reveal is coming. Wow!

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mjgoob's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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jstenman's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lchoinski's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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kahbarrow's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

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danaslitlist's review against another edition

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The casual and constant racism in the flashbacks was annoying and gross enough that I actually caved and went looking at spoilers to confirm if my theory of who the killer was. I’m happy to report that no; it wasn’t who I thought it was which is a good thing because that would’ve been even more racist and gross. But I’m not happy to report that finding out what happens at the end made me slow blink before quickly DNF-ing because, hey Gillian Flynn? Are you really that lazy to write an ending and/or plot that makes sense or????

Which is shame because I was about 6 hours in and overall was having a decent time. This book has good bones and was entirely wasted on an author who is clearly more interested in “BOOM GOT YA!” twists than actual sense and emotion.

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sofimdi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

La protagonista me hizo acordar a otro libro que leí (Final girls) y me jodió el estereotipo de mina superviviente super víctima que no puede seguir adelante con su vida y se vuelve cleptomana.
Los otros personajes desde los que se ve la historia son igual de deprimentes e insoportables.
La autora tiene una facilidad para crear personajes horrendos, desagradables, decadentes y describe una historia muy turbia y depre, una tragedia sucia y sin pelos en la lengua.
Lo terminé porque quería resolver el misterio, porque sino era una lectura abandonada. No conecté con ningún personaje y eso lo hizo difícil. Además de que menciona temas complejos, como suicidio y pederastia. Y que se yo, una advertencia vaga no estaría mal...
Si quieren leer un libro de Gillian Flynn mejor lean Perdida.

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