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Dark Places

Gillian Flynn (Goodreads Author)

3.93 · Rating details · 477,329 ratings · 32,144 reviews

From The #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Of Gone Girl

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice" of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and p ...more

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Hardcover, 349 pages

Published May 5th 2009 by Shaye Areheart Books

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· 477,329 ratings · 32,144 reviews

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Jun 29, 2012 Emily May rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Emily May by: Tatiana

Shelves: mystery-thriller, 2012

“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.”

I highly recommend reading this whilst sitting in the sun with plenty of happy people around you (as I did) - that way you can avoid contracting something evil and nasty from its pages, and also avoid losing any hope you had for humanity.

Okay, sorry, I make it sound so negative when actually this book is pretty fantastic if you can stomach the ...more

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Aug 03, 2012 karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: sshh-family-secrets

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.

gillian flynn sure does love writing about horrible people doing horrible things.and i sure do love reading about them. especially because she isn't one of those writers coasting on shock value and "can you belieeeeeve a delicate flower of a woman is writing this??" but she can really tell a story and i, for one, was completely surprised and pleased by the ending o 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.

gillian flynn sure does love writing about horrible people doing horrible things.and i sure do love reading about them. especially because she isn't one of those writers coasting on shock value and "can you belieeeeeve a delicate flower of a woman is writing this??" but she can really tell a story and i, for one, was completely surprised and pleased by the ending of this one.

libby's mother and two older sisters were murdered when she was seven years old, apparently in some sort of satanic bloodbath masterminded by her older brother ben. she escaped and was instrumental in getting him put behind bars, in one of those "lean on the kid and make them say what needs to be said to convict someone" situations. twenty-five years later, she is a mess - a flat broke kleptomaniac, pissed off at the world, and terrible at any social expectations, until she is approached by a group whose specialty is studying violent crimes, trading memorabilia, constructing alternate scenarios of horrorshows; criminal tourists. and libby pumps them for cash while promising to look into the crime she lived through, and reconnect with her brother and father in order to solve a crime she believes has already been solved.

but it is far from over, man. there are all kinds of things she is going to learn about that night, and about her family, and about her own self.

and it's going to get creepy.

it is great, great, great. it is not perfect - i personally had some difficulties with character motivation and behavior, but it doesn't matter because it all works within flynn's dirty little world, and she manages to convince you that these characters are going to do what they are going to do within their need-spheres, and just because it doesn't make sense to youuuuu, just be thankful for that, yeah?

it is really chilling stuff - oh, god - remember the frenzy of satanic finger-pointing of the 80's? there were cults everywhere, right? all the animal sacrifices and the heavy metal music and the teenage killers under the spell of the dark one? and even though none of it ever panned out into anything, that frenzy, that imagined threat was so convincing to so many pearl-clutching mothers. it would be adorable now, except for reading this book, and remembering that actual people were accused and convicted because of half-whispered urban legends. oops.

it's a great bloody crime story. its pacing is sublime; she always knows just how far to take the reader before switching up the focus to cause the maximum amount of anticipatory distress, she knows how to cover her tracks and how to deliver the most effective kaboom of an ending. and you might not like any of these characters, but you will still sympathize with them, despite your better instincts.

i seem to have run out of gillian flynn books.
more, please.

come to my blog! ...more

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Apr 02, 2014 Kristin (KC) - Traveling Sister rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dark, horror, suspenseful, thriller, psychological-thriller

*4.5 Stars*

Gillian Flynn scares me.

But it’s a good scare! A keep-you-up-all-night-anxiously-reading-because-closing-the-book-is-not-an-option kinda scare.

If you thought Gone Girl was twisted, make room for Dark Places because this suspenseful thriller takes “freaky” to a whole *nuther* level.

I went in thinking I was fully prepared.

I wasn’t.

This book is so astoundingly demented, it truly makes me wonder exactly how Miss Flynn thinks up such bold scenarios. The plot is so “out-there”, yet way ...more

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Jul 21, 2009 Tatiana rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: those who can stomach filth

Shelves: 2010, mysteries-thrillers-horror, only-i-will-like

As seen on The Readventurer

Seriously, what goes on in Gillian Flynn's head? She writes the freakiest stuff. Sharp Objects was nasty enough, and Dark Places is just as vile. Luckily for her, I (along with millions of people) like vile now and then.

Libby Day is a sole survivor of a horrendous massacre. Her mother and two sisters were brutally killed one winter night and, mostly thanks to Libby's testimony, the murders were attributed to Libby's older brother Ben, an alleged active Satan worshiper. As seen on The Readventurer

Seriously, what goes on in Gillian Flynn's head? She writes the freakiest stuff. Sharp Objects was nasty enough, and Dark Places is just as vile. Luckily for her, I (along with millions of people) like vile now and then.

Libby Day is a sole survivor of a horrendous massacre. Her mother and two sisters were brutally killed one winter night and, mostly thanks to Libby's testimony, the murders were attributed to Libby's older brother Ben, an alleged active Satan worshiper. Now, almost 25 years later, 32-year old Libby is out of money that had been donated to her by well-wishers over the years and must look for a new source of income. She settles on helping the Kill Club (a group of obsessed women who believe in Ben's innocence) to re-investigate the murders, for money of course. As Libby starts talking to various people involved in the original investigation at the Kill Club's request, her strong belief in Ben's guilt starts wavering...

I am fairly certain now that Gillian Flynn's "schtick" is writing about VERY BAD women. We are presented with an array of them in Dark Places - they lie to get attention, they abuse, they blackmail, they mooch, they kill, they are weak and pathetic. It is, no doubt, a novel approach to women empowerment. If women are equal to men, they can be equally despicable, right? The men are no better - they are good-for-nothing losers mostly. What I am getting at is that you can hardly find any likable characters in this book, which for many readers is a must (not me though).

The story itself is gruesome. Prepare yourself for brutal killings, molestation, bullying, Satan worshiping, drugs and underage sex. Some parts are so tough to read, I had to put the book aside for awhile.

But underneath the filth, there is a great mystery - well-paced, suspenseful, full of red herrings, it keeps you guessing until the very last moment who the perpetrator is.

Just like Sharp Objects, this book is absolutely not for everybody. But I thoroughly enjoyed this freaky thriller and will wait with anticipation for the release of Gillian Flynn's next macabre mystery. ...more

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Nov 17, 2015 Ana O rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dark-reads, crime, cray-cray-characters

{BR with Scarlet}

"The truly frightening flaw in humanity is our capacity for cruelty - we all have it."

I have no emotions left.

This is a book that will stay with me forever. It left me speechless in different ways, with pretty intense emotions from anger and sadness coupled with hopelessness.

This is not just a thriller/mystery/suspense novel but an absolute psychological roller coaster. I found myself almost too scared to keep reading, but so riveted I just HAD to find out what would happen ...more

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Jul 05, 2009 Terry rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction

Gillian Flynn's first novel, Sharp Objects, was interestingly disturbing; in fact, it walked a razor-thin line between "Huh, you certainly don't read that every day" and "Gillian Flynn has some serrrriiiious issues and I'm a little bit afraid of her". I wasn't sure whether I respected her extremely dark side or her dark side is so dark it makes her books kind of uncomfortable to read.

Strangely enough (once you know the story outline) Dark Places actually has a more conventional plot than Sharp Gillian Flynn's first novel, Sharp Objects, was interestingly disturbing; in fact, it walked a razor-thin line between "Huh, you certainly don't read that every day" and "Gillian Flynn has some serrrriiiious issues and I'm a little bit afraid of her". I wasn't sure whether I respected her extremely dark side or her dark side is so dark it makes her books kind of uncomfortable to read.

Strangely enough (once you know the story outline) Dark Places actually has a more conventional plot than Sharp Objects, and having just discussed Jodi Picoult at some length with Marie, I was totally in a place to read a book with alternating points of view which would normally exasperate me, I think. Some reviewers have pointed out there is absolutely no one to like in the book, but I agree with the reviewers who point out the fact that Libby is not at all likable is actually more compelling, because the stunted (in every possible way), damaged (in every possible way) adult she is is a response to the life she has lived. So I think it's a good thing that every character in the book is frustrating or enraging or downright disgusting. That's more truthful, really, I think.

All that being said, I can't say I enjoyed the book. I certainly didn't put the book down; I read it in one day. But the device used to galvanize Libby into action in the beginning of the book is very, very weak and that put me off. Also, despite unconventional characters and a really, really, really, really REALLLLLLLY serious devotion to bloody crime scenes, in the end the book just devolves into a who-really-done-it mystery that felt kind of, well, dull. SOMEBODY done it, and we'd either find out eventually or Flynn would confound us with "ha ha, you'll never really know what happened!"--either way I wasn't really all that excited to find out who-really-done-it just because the whole red-herring "she did it! no, HE did it! no, another person entirely did it!" trope is boring and even disappointing, coming from Flynn.

I'm not even sure which of Flynn's two books I like better. I am interested in reading her next book. Still, there is something off-putting at the same time about her... interests? Passions? She is really serious about really studying really disturbed people doing really disturbing things and at some points in both books it feels... not over the top, but almost... well, creepy. She's like that strange neighborhood kid who lives in that weird house and who is a little too fascinated by chopping earthworms in half or seeing what happens when you burn ants, or something. I read just one of Lionel Shriver's books and it was so upsetting to me I absolutely refuse to ever read any of her books again, because she seemed to take a sly enjoyment in really pushing her characters into more and more awful places, mentally and physically. I don't quite feel that way about Flynn yet, but there's just something about her books that's too...hot-breathed for me.

...more

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Jun 06, 2009 Sue Bridehead (A Pseudonym) rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: thriller lovers, true crime fans, women

Recommended to Sue Bridehead (A Pseudonym) by: Entertainment Weekly

Shelves: novels, favorites, crime, mystery, gothic

Normally I wouldn't give a genre book like this a 5-star review, because I'm picky and controlling about handing out major praise. How could a crime/mystery be as good as, say, Thomas Hardy or Alice Munro? Apples and oranges.

But I just finished this about five minutes ago, and it made me gasp. It's so good -- a well-paced page-turner, beautifully wrought. I literally couldn't put it down for longer than a couple hours at a time once I picked it up (with the exception of sleep).

According to her A ...more

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May 01, 2013 Raeleen Lemay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, adult-fiction, spooky-scary

I have now officially read all of Gillian Flynn's books, and I really enjoyed this one!

The story and the characters were so twisted, and the last hour or so of the audiobook was insaaaane.

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Jun 25, 2010 Kemper rated it liked it

Shelves: crime-mystery, whodunit

As someone who grew up in rural Kansas and has lived in the suburbs of Kansas City for the last fourteen years, I made my peace long ago with the fact that I don’t reside in one of the hip places on the map. The only Kansas based things that have worked their way into popular culture are In Cold Blood and that goddamn Wizard of Oz. (As a Kansan, I listen to everyone I’ve met from somewhere else do the “I guess you’re not in Kansas anymore! Ha ha!” thing and can barely resist the urge to punch th As someone who grew up in rural Kansas and has lived in the suburbs of Kansas City for the last fourteen years, I made my peace long ago with the fact that I don’t reside in one of the hip places on the map. The only Kansas based things that have worked their way into popular culture are In Cold Blood and that goddamn Wizard of Oz. (As a Kansan, I listen to everyone I’ve met from somewhere else do the “I guess you’re not in Kansas anymore! Ha ha!” thing and can barely resist the urge to punch them in the throat.)

But it seems like every book, film or tv show is set in either New York or L.A. with a few other places like Miami, Chicago or Boston thrown in now and then. I think half the reason I’m such a huge fan of John Sandford is that most of his books are set in Minneapolis, and he’s shown that there actually is life in the Midwest. I know that the folks who run the various entertainment industries like to talk about getting us off our tractors long enough to sample their wares, but it seems like the only attempts to include us in the stories either mock us as morons or sentimentalize small town life to vomit inducing degrees.

Gillian Flynn is originally from Kansas City, and her first book was very well received so I was excited to hear that Dark Places was set in both rural Kansas and K.C. Of course, it involved the slaughter of a family on the prairie, going back to the In Cold Blood thing, but I’ll take what I can get. I was excited to get one of the rare chances to read a story set in the place I live.

Unfortunately, Flynn didn’t do her old hometown any favors because it seems like she singled out every depressing aspect like the run down old stockyards and warehouse district that’s got some of the worst urban decay in the area. Or I-70 between K.C. and St. Louis that is filled with tacky billboards and low rent strip clubs. One restaurant that she uses as a location recently burned to the ground, and its owner is charged with arson. I know she was telling a story about the aftermath of a brutal crime and how it screwed up the sole survivor, but damn! Would it have killed her to have a character pop down to Power & Light for a drink? The K.C. tourism board would have thanked her for it.

Enough of my bitching. About the book: Back in 1985 on a rundown Kansas farm, a mother and two daughters are brutally killed. Young Libby Day manages to survive by fleeing the house, and it’s her testimony that convicts her fifteen year old brother Ben of the crime. Supposedly, Ben was a Satan worshipping freak who went shotgun and axe happy one winter night.

In the present, thirty-one year old Libby is a freaking mess. She doesn’t make it out of bed some days, she’s a kleptomaniac, she has no friends, and she usually can’t even manage to take care of simple things like remembering to buy cat food, wash her sheets or fill her ice cube trays.

Libby has been living off the trust fund that started when donations poured in after the murders, but the money is about to run out. Desperate, Libby agrees to a paid appearance for the Kill Club, a group of amateur investigators who think that her brother is innocent. Libby doesn’t even want to think about her brother, but offers of more cash get her motivated to start visiting people connected to the murders. Suddenly, Libby isn’t so sure that Ben was the killer after all.

The story is told in two parallel ways. We get Libby’s first person account of her activities in the present, while a third person narrative of the last day of her family gives us the background of what happened in 1985.

This is a character based mystery, and Flynn does a great job with both the struggling Libby in the present and the family in 1985. The stark reality of a poor farm family in the mid-’80s along with Libby’s pathetic life as an adult makes for a pretty depressing story, but Flynn really sucks the reader into the plight of everyone involved. I was somewhat let down by the ending, but I can’t say much about that without spoilers.

While this book probably won’t convince anyone to move to Kansas, it’s a good read for those who don’t mind a raw story about just how much life can sometimes suck, even if you don’t get chopped to bits with an axe. ...more

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Jul 29, 2014 Alejandro rated it it was amazing

Shelves: novel, detective, horror

Gripping and entertained!

DAYS GO BY

You gotta believe in something, right? Everyone has their thing.

This is my second novel by Gillian Flynn, and now I am realizing that I have been reading them backwards, I mean in the opposite publishing order, but this has been due mainly the order of film adaptations. However, I won’t wait until having any film adaptation of Sharp Objects, to read that one. I do hope to read it in the following months.

My reading experience with Gone Girl wasn’t any good ...more

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Sep 04, 2014 Dan Schwent rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014, hick-lit, crime-and-mystery

When person or persons unknown murdered her entire family, seven year old Libby Day managed to escape and fingered her brother Ben as the killer. Now, decades later, she's dysfunctional and nearly penniless, and after meeting some true crime enthusiasts, isn't so sure her brother was the murderer after all. Can Libby discover the truth?

After dodging Gillian Flynn for years in the wake of Gone Girl, I finally caved it when this showed up in one of my daily cheap ebook emails. Gillian Flynn, where When person or persons unknown murdered her entire family, seven year old Libby Day managed to escape and fingered her brother Ben as the killer. Now, decades later, she's dysfunctional and nearly penniless, and after meeting some true crime enthusiasts, isn't so sure her brother was the murderer after all. Can Libby discover the truth?

After dodging Gillian Flynn for years in the wake of Gone Girl, I finally caved it when this showed up in one of my daily cheap ebook emails. Gillian Flynn, where have you been all my life?

Dark Places is a mystery but it's one of those mysteries that also happens to be brutal and very well written, like Winter's Bone or something along those lines. Libby Day is a broken adult, having never recovered from her mother and sisters being murdered by her brother. Or were they? Libby cracks open the past like a pinata and takes a look at what falls out: not candy but a lot of ugliness, more like a brood of cockroaches.

Since I live very near nowhere's asshole, rural settings always resonate with me because I understand living miles from everywhere and what could happen in the dark of night. Libby wakes up to the sounds of her family being slaughtered. Not exactly your feel-good read.

I love that instead of some notion of heroism, Libby gets involved in her family's murder because she's nearly run out of money and has no idea how to function as a normal adult. She's a kleptomaniac and has burned every familial bridge she ever trod upon. Lyle and the Kill Club light the spark but it's the lack of money that provides the fuel, at first, anyway.

Gillian Flynn crafts one hell of a mystery yarn but it's her characters that show she's more than just another mystery lover. Ben and Libby are sympathetic figures, despite both being deeply flawed. Still, she makes you understand their motivations, making them seem all too realistic. The parallel structure of the book builds the suspense. I had no idea what actually happened that night until it was pretty much spelled out for me, which I love in a mystery.

There's not much else I want to say for fear of giving something away. Dark Places. Five stars. Read it!
...more

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Sep 22, 2014 Nataliya rated it liked it

Shelves: 2014-reads

Lesson learned # 1: Gillian Flynn is excellent at creating unpleasant characters and disturbing situations.

“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.”

Lesson learned # 2: Reading her books in a dark apartment at 3 am is a big making-skin-crawl mistake.

Dark Places is a book capable of leaving a nasty aftertaste and vague uncomfortable feeling for days after finishing it. I strongly suspect it is its inte ...more

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Apr 20, 2015 Mandy rated it it was amazing

This is by far my favorite book ever! I started this knowing how much I enjoyed Gone Girl and when I got started with this I couldn't put it down. My soul bonded to this book from the first word. Page turner and an unforgettable ride. A hell of a ride. The movie is just as good and I can rarely say that about books and movies. Ugh, great, spectacular, amazing, eventful, mind-blowing, utterly fantastic. Read this book!!!!!! After reading Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl I knew I had to read her other no ...more

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Apr 07, 2015 Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ rated it really liked it

Recommended to Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ by: Noémy

Shelves: my-kindle-challenges-me, 2016-reads, mystery-thriller-horror, dark, trigger-warning, dark-week

4.5 stars . *breathes deeply* What a ride! Finally a mystery that keeps its appeal intact after the first 50% and does not make me roll my eyes all duh! like in the end. Let's see why, shall we?

► Highly recommended if you can stomach the depression. *whispers* In the end, I even rooted for Libby. Don't ask me why. I just did. Nobody's perfect, okay? I said that the characters made me sick, but oh, the sadness. The despair. The misunderstandings. The loneliness. My heart aches from lack of hope. ...more

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Dec 24, 2018 Rincey rated it liked it · review of another edition

Nothing like reading Gillian Flynn during the holidays to make you feel significantly better about your own family

Watch me discuss this book in my December wrap up: https://youtu.be/ReIV4UHlHCI

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May 27, 2009 Brooke rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2009, mystery

Well. I can't really say that I liked this book. None of the characters are likable, including the main character. Libby Day's family was killed by her brother when she was 7. By the time she hits 30, she's still 7 inside, her inner growth stunted by the tragedy. She can barely take care of herself, has never had a job, and suddenly the money that strangers donated out of charity over the years is down to about $900. To replenish her bank account, Libby grudgingly agrees to pimp herself out to a Well. I can't really say that I liked this book. None of the characters are likable, including the main character. Libby Day's family was killed by her brother when she was 7. By the time she hits 30, she's still 7 inside, her inner growth stunted by the tragedy. She can barely take care of herself, has never had a job, and suddenly the money that strangers donated out of charity over the years is down to about $900. To replenish her bank account, Libby grudgingly agrees to pimp herself out to a group of people obsessed with the Day murders and with proving that her brother isn't really guilty. Along the way, she starts to have doubts herself and the real story unfolds between her present-day sleuthing and flashbacks to her mother's and brother's point-of-view from the day of the killings.

As I said, no one is likable. I wanted to slap everyone, and I found it impossible to feel any sympathy towards Libby despite her trauma. Gillian Flynn is disturbingly good at creating characters who are beyond messed up and irritating, to the point where you start to wonder what sort of inner darkness she harbors (on the contrary, her Author's Notes always make her sound very well adjusted. At the end of this book, she charmingly promises her mom that she will someday write a book where the mother is neither evil nor killed). Nothing about the dark story that's filled with hopelessness and screw-ups made me feel good about reading it. To use a well-worn phrase, it was almost like a train wreck.

I will hasten to add though, a very well-written train wreck, one with fabulous pacing that rushes along at a breakneck speed and refuses to let you take a breather. It gripped me, kept me guessing, and totally sucked me in with the great voice that Flynn gave the unlikable Libby. I almost felt like I WAS Libby, and it reminded me of the single-minded focus that Tana French's books inspired, where I had to almost physically extract myself from the book once I was finished. I think I liked French's books much better, but I'm very glad to keep coming across such talented women in the mystery genre.

Not a beach book. Not a feel-good story of the year. But damn highly recommended. ...more

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Oct 01, 2015 Chantal (Every Word A Doorway) rated it really liked it

Shelves: best-reads-of-2015, listened-on-audio, mystery-thriller-horror

This book was insaaaaane. But so so good. Dark Places was my first Gillian Flynn book (though I have seen the Gone Girl movie) but I fully plan on picking up her other books now.

It’s the kind of novel that makes you question what on earth we humans can come up with. I kept wondering what was going on in Gyllian Flynn’s head. How does she think of these things?

Dark Places is vile, macabre and gruesome. The author doesn’t hold back, instead she seemingly bombards you with everything ugly that is o This book was insaaaaane. But so so good. Dark Places was my first Gillian Flynn book (though I have seen the Gone Girl movie) but I fully plan on picking up her other books now.

It’s the kind of novel that makes you question what on earth we humans can come up with. I kept wondering what was going on in Gyllian Flynn’s head. How does she think of these things?

Dark Places is vile, macabre and gruesome. The author doesn’t hold back, instead she seemingly bombards you with everything ugly that is out there. Vivid descriptions of bloody crime scenes, physical and psychological horrors, the most unlikable characters you can imagine. She gives us a glimpse into the mind-set of some truly twisted and messed up people who all carry around their own little dirty secrets.

The truly frightening flaw in humanity is our capacity for cruelty - we all have it.

But with the book’s superb writing style and strong narrative, it all somehow works. The story kept me engaged all the way through and I found myself constantly thinking of the book when I wasn’t reading, wondering who the culprit was.

The story is told from three different POVs: From Libby Day in the present and from Ben and Patty Day in 1985. It was a day in the year of 1985 when Ben – Libby’s older brother – allegedly murdered three members of his own family – including his mother, Patty, and two of his younger sisters – in cold blood. Only Libby somehow escaped the massacre. Libby’s testimony against Ben condemns him to a lifelong imprisonment. Now, after having lived off donations her entire life, Libby’s finances run out and she has to find a new way to earn enough money to survive. In an attempt to get the money without having to work, Libby makes an appearance at the “Kill Club”, a secret society obsessed with solving crimes. She soon realizes however, that everyone in the club believes Ben innocent and her testimony to be false. At first, she dismisses these theories as fanatical talk, but as more and more information is presented to her, Libby realizes that maybe things aren’t simple as she thought them to be.

Dark Places is not a book I would necessarily call “enjoyable”. At times it is frightening and difficult to read: the author drags you into the story with the intrigue of the killings while simultaneously pushing you away with her deeply flawed characters. While reading I actually developed some scarily aggressive thoughts towards certain (most) characters. At times I got so angry I wanted to jump into the book and strangle them with my bare hands. Punch them in the face. Scratch out their eyes. I am NOT a violent person but look at what this book has done to me *shudders*. But as negative as these feelings were, I kind of loved it. I felt passionate about this book, which is something I’ve been missing from my last couple of reads.

Let’s take a closer look at our protagonist, Libby Day. She is the epitome of a flawed character. Not quite an anti-hero, but definitely not a hero either, Libby is selfish, violent, lazy and anti-social, yet you somehow remain on her side and root for her.

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.

You want her to succeed, despite the fact that she does some horrendous things. Do you forgive her for it? Not really, but it didn’t matter. I didn’t like Libby, but I understood her and that was enough.

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.

Without a character like Libby that makes you care about the outcome of the story and gets you involved on an emotional level, the story wouldn’t be what it is now. The mystery alone – though well-paced and suspenseful – wasn’t enough for me to keep reading. It was the characters that made me want to keep going. The “who did it” part of the novel is only half as interesting as the “how did it come to that”. In some ways, everyone is a little bit guilty and realizing that and seeing Libby come to terms with it was fascinating.

Then we have our other main character, Ben Day. Seeing how his thoughts turned darker and darker as the story went along was a little scary. It makes the reader constantly question if he could truly be the murderer.

Sometimes he felt like he'd been gone his whole life--in exile, away from the place he was supposed to be, and that, soldier-like, he was pining to be returned. Homesick for a place he'd never been.

Plot and writing wise this book was also excellent. Gillian Flynn has some serious talent when it comes to writing unpredictable mysteries. She constantly kept me on my toes, giving me just enough information to keep me guessing and then be mislead. The alternating points of view were perhaps the biggest factor in making this story smooth and exciting throughout. The author certainly knows how to switch focus just in time to create the strongest sense of anticipation.

My main criticism of the novel is that at times I felt the story was a little too dragged out and would have been even better if it was slightly shorter. I also questioned the necessity of having certain elements in the story. However, I obviously still greatly enjoyed the story.

This is not a book for everyone; you need a certain taste for the dark and despicable to enjoy this story. Graphic descriptions violence, underage sex and molestation are all present. But if these things don’t bother you, then you should most definitely give this book a try.
...more

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Nov 15, 2015 Reading Corner rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Dark Places is a masterpiece, composed of troubled characters,disturbing deeds and buried secrets.For me, it wasn't as good as Gone Girl or Sharp Objects but it still managed to be a fantastic mystery, full of suspense and tragedy.Gillian Flynn takes a similar route with her characters as Libby Day is a deeply troubled individual, seeking the truth behind her family's murder.She uncovers numerous shocking truths which shape this novel into a true page-turner.

Libby Day is an incredibly complex ch ...more

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Feb 09, 2016 Andrew Smith rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I didn’t like Gone Girl, which I though started quite well but went rapidly down hill from half way. So I approached this one with caution. I shouldn’t have worried though; I could tell from the start this was going to be right up my alley. Libby is a lazy kleptomaniac who is living off the inherited life insurance from her hideously slaughtered family – well, who wouldn’t warm to a character like that!

Libby’s brother Ben is the only other survivor of the massacre, and he is in prison having a I didn’t like Gone Girl, which I though started quite well but went rapidly down hill from half way. So I approached this one with caution. I shouldn’t have worried though; I could tell from the start this was going to be right up my alley. Libby is a lazy kleptomaniac who is living off the inherited life insurance from her hideously slaughtered family – well, who wouldn’t warm to a character like that!

Libby’s brother Ben is the only other survivor of the massacre, and he is in prison having already been convicted of the murders. When we meet out heroine she’s living in a dump and just about to reach the bottom of the money barrel. She’s got a few dollars left and an offer to meet up with a ghoulish collection of Kill Club members who want to pick over her memories of the tragedy, for a fee of $500. She meets with them, hating the experience but is tempted to help one of the members who is intent on delving deeper into the history of the case – as long as he keeps the cash flowing.

The narrative is told primarily first person, through the eyes of Libby, but is interspersed with flash back third party accounts which focus on Libby’s mother and on Ben. As we learn more about both characters the plot thickens. I loved the characterisation and pacing of the story. It wasn’t hurried and the author lingered over details that served to deepen the reader’s knowledge of and appreciation for the characters. I like that kind of focus, it draws me into a story. And I was drawn in. I was enjoying the journey to much to worry about the destination, which is just as well as it turned out to be the best bit.

In Gone Girl, Flynn threw in twist after twist to the point it became akin to a Brian Rix farce. As a result, I lost all belief in that tale. Here, she doesn’t complicate a simple story until we’ve got nine tenths of the way through it, at which point she chucks in an over-engineered and highly improbable ending. It’s as if she’s lost faith in the value of the tale as she was telling it and felt she needed a big finish. Or maybe she had eyes on a big movie deal and thought a surprise ending would seal it. Either way, I feel she’d have been better served to have finished the book in a manner more suited to the feel of the rest of the book. Less would have most definitely have been more.

That said, I still feel this book is well worth reading if only to enjoy the brilliant way Libby is brought to life. My favourite line? Well, it’s delivered as she goes ‘souvenir’ hunting whist visiting a house. As she spots and pockets a thermometer (the items she stole were always a random collection of useless tat) she muses that she’d always wanted one: when I take to my bed it’s good to know whether I’m sick or just lazy. I’ll miss you Libby.
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Mar 16, 2015 Jonathan Janz rated it it was amazing

Back in 2012 and early 2013, I remember hearing a lot about a baseball player named Mike Trout. Being a Cubs fan (see: suffering), I didn't get many chances to watch the Angels since they play late at night, and for me that's prime writing time.

But my son and I got the opportunity to catch an Angels-Cubs game on July 10th, 2013, and I finally got the opportunity to watch Mike Trout play in person at Wrigley Field.

His stat line? Three hits, two of them doubles. A walk. A stolen base. Some spark Back in 2012 and early 2013, I remember hearing a lot about a baseball player named Mike Trout. Being a Cubs fan (see: suffering), I didn't get many chances to watch the Angels since they play late at night, and for me that's prime writing time.

But my son and I got the opportunity to catch an Angels-Cubs game on July 10th, 2013, and I finally got the opportunity to watch Mike Trout play in person at Wrigley Field.

His stat line? Three hits, two of them doubles. A walk. A stolen base. Some sparkling defensive play in center field. He drove in a run and scored two more. The Angels, incidentally, beat my Cubbies thirteen-to-two that night. But my boy and I still had a blast. It truly is about being together.

Yet as impressive as Trout's stats were, what impressed me most that night was the way he went about his business. There was attention to every single detail. His stance, his eye at the plate, his defensive readiness. This was a player who relished the process, who understood how much the little things mattered, who wasn't content to cruise through a game that was decided by the top of the second inning.

Gillian Flynn reminds me of Mike Trout. I'd heard about her for years, but for whatever reason, I didn't take the plunge and try her work until last month. I'd seen (and loved) GONE GIRL, but figured I'd read one of her lesser known works first (if a book with more than 185,000 ratings on Goodreads could be termed "lesser known").

So what did I think of DARK PLACES?

I thought it was outstanding. The labyrinthine/Gothic plotting, the manner in which the past interacted with the present, the character arcs and unflinching willingness to venture into the nastier thickets of the human psyche. All of it worked for me. Swimmingly.

But what impressed me even more was Flynn's *writing*. In every sentence there was attention and care. Her word choice was impeccable. Every character, no matter how minor, was rendered in a distinct, memorable way. Flynn never used her minor players as incidental flotsam; instead, she took the time to make them dangerous or heartbreaking or misguided or eerily relatable.

In other words, Gillian Flynn is the Mike Trout of modern fiction. A fairly newish author (okay, new to me!) who respects the game and who plays it the way it's meant to be played.

I really dug DARK PLACES, but I went crazy over Flynn's writing. I suspected I would, but I needed to be sure.

Man, can Gillian rake. ...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, read-in-2013

I read Dark Places waaaaaaaay before I ever thought about writing giffy reviews for a hobby. That ‘splains why there’s always just been my 4 Star rating sitting here with no picture book accompaniment. But I live where this book takes place and I’m familiar with the landmarks and the vibe of certain locales that made the action so tangible to me and soon it will hit the big screen filled with A-list actors in the starring roles causing people to poke around and find my ugly blank review space.

I ...more

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May 30, 2017 j e w e l s [Books Bejeweled] rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-bejeweled, audio, twister-hall-of-fame

“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.” Gillian Flynn, Dark Places

Gillian Flynn is the MUTHA of all domestic noir. She's my spirit animal. I feel defensive about her books, I think sometimes she gets a bad rap because her novels are so dark. Her characters unlikeable. Her plots are crazy. True, true, true.

Underneath it all, it is impossible to overlook her talent in characterization. Every book I read ...more

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Nov 17, 2014 Natalie Monroe rated it it was amazing

Shelves: creepy-yet-entertaining, fabulous-five-stars, he-s-so-bad-but-he-does-it-so-well, favorites, my-inner-feminist-cries-with-joy

"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."

Flynn has a gift for creating absolutely despicable characters that you can't help but sympathize with.

Everyone in this book is horrible, from the narrator's ten-year-old sister, who is a gossip-monger and blackmails people for their silence, to the deadbeat dad who physically threatens his wife for money.

Even the main character, Libby, isn't spared. She's the ...more

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Sep 28, 2014 Jeanne rated it liked it

Shelves: books-to-film

Meh.

Well, unfortunately this wasn't the page turner Gone Girl was for me. The most interesting thing about this book in my opinion was Libby's character. Where Gone Girl started out slow and then got really good, this one started out amazing and then went flat. I do like that Gillian Flynn creates these screwed up characters and I found Libby to be somewhat entertaining. Ms. Flynn isn't known for writing likable characters to be inspired by, but Libby was interesting. Her emotional growth was k ...more

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Mar 19, 2011 Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker Queen of the Undead rated it really liked it

Other Reviewers mentioned they didn't like Libby! How can you NOT love Libby. She's emotionally troubled, selfish, lazy, angry and does not want to love anyone including herself. She is exactly how you would expect someone to be when your entire family is butchered while you are hiding and eventually running for your life.

Flynn, I bow down to you for not making this character "rise above" her past and for writing a character so perfectly, that my heart literally felt like it was broken while I ...more

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Oct 14, 2017 Anne rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-german

Actual rating: 3.5 Stars

I took me a bit longer to get into this book than Gone Girl, but I still enjoyed it.
I had some problems with the main character at the beginning. I found her quite unsympathetic. I got used to her throughout the book though, and I do think she had a good amount of character development. Unfortunately, some of the side characters left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. I would have loved more information and a better look into their thoughts and feelings.
The ending came a bit t ...more

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Jul 23, 2015 Glenn Sumi rated it really liked it

Dear Gillian Flynn:

After Gone Girl and now this riveting novel, I’ll gladly go to any fictional dark place you take me.

Once again, you had me hooked after the first few pages.

Your protagonist’s voice – bitter, jaded, lazy, entitled – feels absolutely authentic. Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were brutally murdered on a cold January night in 1985. She survived, at least physically, and she's grown up, broke and miserable. She isn’t likeable, but she really doesn’t want to b ...more

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Apr 26, 2016 Kassidy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

I randomly decided to listen to this because I wanted to watch the movie. It turned out to be a fascinating, yet disturbing mystery read. I couldn't stop listening, and came to care for these messed up characters. If you enjoy mysteries and thrillers, this is a must read. However, be warned, the content is pretty graphic.

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Apr 19, 2014 Robert rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-deals, robert-s-reads

Gillian Flynn scares the shit out of me. Whilst this is nothing more than pure conjecture, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn she was a serial killer in a former life, or that she stabs bunnies and kittens and hamsters and toy poodles during her spare time (for research purposes). Sure, she has her shit together, but she has an interesting way of sprinkling her love for Kansas across 368 ink-splattered pages. It begs the question: What would she do with a state like California and in a city like L Gillian Flynn scares the shit out of me. Whilst this is nothing more than pure conjecture, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn she was a serial killer in a former life, or that she stabs bunnies and kittens and hamsters and toy poodles during her spare time (for research purposes). Sure, she has her shit together, but she has an interesting way of sprinkling her love for Kansas across 368 ink-splattered pages. It begs the question: What would she do with a state like California and in a city like LA? The LA tourism board probably has had many a sleepless night just mulling over what this superbly talented author could do. Future headline in the Los Angeles Times: Tourism down 31% in three weeks. And if I were Kemper, I’d search for land elsewhere. I hear Antarctica isn’t bad this time of year. If you need a recommendation, I’ll put you in touch with Kate Upton.

Seriously, though, DARK PLACES dropped me in a dank forest in the middle of the night, shaved my head, punched me in the gut, stabbed me in the throat, and then kicked me in the crotch, all within the first 250 pages or so. If you want to learn about man’s inhumanity to man, I can’t think of many authors that do it better. But if you don’t want to be sucking applesauce through a straw, hooked up to a catheter, and have a nurse that resembles the Joker wield a scalpel near your jugular, you might want to point yourself in the direction of the latest Disney movie (probably not Maleficent) and get yourself a handful of gummy bears.

Libby and Ben Day had more than a few things to say, and quite possibly needed an intervention. While I probably would have enjoyed this more if I had even one character I could root for (even the mother made me shudder and cringe), that wouldn’t be realistic in this particular world. Maybe I had to enter the right frame of mind to meander my way from beginning to end, but once I found purchase on this particular surface, I rushed toward the conclusion without any particular illusions. And then discovered I needed a shower and shave and a nightlight to help me make it until it dawn.

Cross-posted at Robert's Reads ...more

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Dec 28, 2015 Clumsy Storyteller rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, re-reading

Disturbing /heartbreaking /Perfect/thriller/mystery/suspense novel i loved the twist i really didn't see that one coming, The main character, Libby was a damaged soul, 3 of her family members were killed by her brother Ben (that's what the author wants you to think :p) i didn't like Libby very much she's a slob lonely woman, she had a rough start in life but that's not an excuse for sitting around and waiting for people to support her financially, it was annoying but she had her reasons, her br ...more

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About Gillian Flynn

Gillian Flynn

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Gillian Flynn is an American author and television critic for Entertainment Weekly. She has so far written three novels, Sharp Objects, for which she won the 2007 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for the best thriller; Dark Places; and her best-selling third novel Gone Girl.

Her book has received wide praise, including from authors such as Stephen King. The dark plot revolves around a serial killer in a Mi ...more