Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects - Review

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An unflinching exploration of a town filled with secrets, child murder and the scars of abuse.

One young girl murdered. Another missing. Camille Preaker, a reporter based in Chicago, is dispatched back to her hometown by her editor to be the first to investigate what looks to be the beginning of the work of a serial killer. Camille has uncomfortable memories of her time there – still haunted by the tragic death of her sister many years before, a strained relationship with her mother, and the origins of her unhealthy relationship with alcohol and her history of self-harm.

The discovery of a second girl’s body leaves the town shaken and grief-stricken. The closed community do not welcome Camille’s interference. They are steadfast in their belief that an outsider is claiming the lives of their children. Only Camille and an out-of-town police detective seem to consider the possibility that the killer may be part of the community.

Meanwhile, Camille reacquaints herself with her estranged mother, emotionally-hollow stepfather and now thirteen-year-old younger sister who seems to hold many in the town in a trance-like grip with a personality veering between mature, sadistic adult and young, innocent child. The longer Camille stays and the deeper she digs, the more the lines between past and present blur. The scars of the past still burn and she finds they may prove to be the key to unlocking the mystery.

Gillian Flynn has a talent for getting beneath the skin of dysfunctional human relationships. I first discovered her work, as many others did, with ‘Gone Girl’, so have read her three novels in reverse order to their publication. ‘Sharp Objects’ deals with some difficult subject matter – mental health issues; bullying; trauma and abuse – both self-abuse and abusive relationships; and, not least of all, the murder of children.

Camille may be troubled and defensive, but I found her an endearing and relatable character and was swept up in her story. The novel is exceptionally plotted – Camille’s own backstory, her personal relationships and the wider mystery of the crimes and the town weave together seamlessly, building to an intense climax where the threads intertwine and the truth is revealed to devastating effect.

While ‘Gone Girl’ and ‘Dark Places’ have been adapted as films, ‘Sharp Objects’ has been adapted as a TV miniseries, which I’m highly anticipating watching after reading the book.

Psychologically compelling and grippingly sinister, ‘Sharp Objects’ is a chilling debut novel; a portrait of inflicted evil and the long shadows it casts.



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