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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
literally the best book i’ve ever read. perfectly written main character that is not aggressively unlikeable and self deprecating but also doesn’t hide her flaws and is real about how she does not try to better her self. the twists and turns make you feel like you have whiplash but in the best way possible. leaves you guessing until the very last chapter and the way she wrote each character makes you both feel for them and dislike some of their decisions. a crazy premise but with fully realized characters that feel so real
Fast paced, dark
The book definitely lives up to its title! Overall, I liked this mainly because of the pacing and mystery. Once I started reading, I was pretty much unable to put it down until I’d finished.
The book’s ending didn’t really live up to the set up and rest of the book - I felt like the explanation given by the author was a little implausible but also that she didn’t spend enough time exploring the character’s reactions to the reveal and how that coloured the way the main character/reader viewed the other characters in the end.
The book definitely lives up to its title! Overall, I liked this mainly because of the pacing and mystery. Once I started reading, I was pretty much unable to put it down until I’d finished.
The book’s ending didn’t really live up to the set up and rest of the book - I felt like the explanation given by the author was a little implausible but also that she didn’t spend enough time exploring the character’s reactions to the reveal and how that coloured the way the main character/reader viewed the other characters in the end.
When I want a nuanced, troubled, relatable female character with family troubles and living in the mid-west, I go to Gillian Flynn.
Dark Places is unexpectedly funny, seriously dark, and heart-wrenchingly heinous. Libby, like most of Flynn's character's is an unemployed klepto, relatable, and bubbling with anger and memories of the past.
I didn't at all expect the Angel of Debt to be the murderer of Patty and Debby, Diondra was an easy guess, but learning that Ben was merely a spectator, and enabler of Michelle's death was a horrifically cold discovery. Especially because a lot of what he did was for his baby or to impress a girlfriend that didn't care all that much for him.
"I am, I guess, depressed. I guess I've been depressed for about twenty-four years. I can feel a better version of me somewhere in there - hidden behind a liver or attached to a bit of spleen within my stunted, childish body - a Libby that's telling me to get up, do something, grow up, move on. But the meanness usually wins out."
Dark Places is unexpectedly funny, seriously dark, and heart-wrenchingly heinous. Libby, like most of Flynn's character's is an unemployed klepto, relatable, and bubbling with anger and memories of the past.
I didn't at all expect the Angel of Debt to be the murderer of Patty and Debby, Diondra was an easy guess, but learning that Ben was merely a spectator, and enabler of Michelle's death was a horrifically cold discovery. Especially because a lot of what he did was for his baby or to impress a girlfriend that didn't care all that much for him.
"I am, I guess, depressed. I guess I've been depressed for about twenty-four years. I can feel a better version of me somewhere in there - hidden behind a liver or attached to a bit of spleen within my stunted, childish body - a Libby that's telling me to get up, do something, grow up, move on. But the meanness usually wins out."
I LOVED this book. I was a bit cautious after having read Sharp Objects and not enjoying the harrowing nature of the story and writing, but Dark Places pleasantly surprised me. The end was slightly predictable, but I think it felt less like a dull mystery, and more how the main character Libby dealt with her past and facing what really happened. Would definitely recommend!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The last 1/3 of the book was much better than the first 2/3, though I'm not sure it makes up for the struggle I had getting through the beginning. I'm not sorry I stuck around until the end, but I will say this is the weakest of Gillian Flynn's novels. I was expecting a page turner but got sunk cost fallacy instead.
medium-paced
Page turner. Like most of GF's books, it's pretty far-fetched, but fun.
Ending was kind of lame and worst of Gillian’s 3 books