12.7k reviews for:

Dark Places

Gillian Flynn

3.86 AVERAGE

dark mysterious fast-paced

This is my favorite Gillian Flynn. It was the first one I read, and I loved the way she uses twists to reveal and link parts of the story that have come before. Very enjoyable.

Beautifully written, excellent mystery, horribly sad and ultimately not an enjoyable read.

Crazy


2023 reread:
Disturbing! A real page turner with an overall very sad tone. Surprisingly didn’t remember a single thing about the book and was able to enjoy it like it was the first go

I first read Dark Places almost a decade ago, in the wake of seeing the excellent film adaption of Gone Girl. While both Gone Girl and Sharp Objects have remained on my bookshelves to this day, Dark Place has not, and now I remember why.

Don’t get me wrong - it’s a well-written, taut, tense novel, with a lingering sense of unease that grows and grows as you read. The twists are unexpected but not unbelievable, and the dual timelines work well together. Overall though, it doesn’t have quite the same nail-biting, unnerving, electric quality as GG and SO.

4.5
dark tense medium-paced
dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

3.5 stars

fire