Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn - September 2017

[Kristie, Moderator (Retired)]

Our thriller themed group read for September is Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. Please discuss here and remember to use spoiler tags as needed, as everyone may start at different times and reads at different speeds.



Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows, a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming.

[Romina]

I added this book on January 2016 to my TBR and havent gotten around to it yet! Going to take this opportunity to finally read it

[Michael]

I'm in the 60's and i'm loving this so far!!

[Peri]

Finished it! This was my first Gillian Flynn book and I really enjoyed it. Yes, it was somewhat disturbing, but it kept me engaged throughout with no lagging moments.
(view spoiler)[I'm going to completely spoil the ending here, so read at your own risk. Okay, last warning!! Here goes: it was very crafty of the author to not-so-subtly point all of our suspicion toward the mother, then, in the last few pages, very casually mention that, nope, it was the creepy sister all along. Kind of blew my mind. What a messed up family. (hide spoiler)]

[Kristie, Moderator (Retired)]

I haven't read much of of her work, but I get the impression that it is typically disturbing.

[Silvia]

Very disturbing!!!

[Chris]

Was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Great pacing and I honestly wasn't able to put it down. The end got way weird, dark, and uncomfortable, but it really drew out the characters involved I think.

[Silvia]

The thing with the end is that I never imagined it! (view spoiler)[And the teeth in the house was really creepy.. Again, this book was really disturbing (hide spoiler)]

[Mariana]

I must be the only person who did not like this book which is a shame because I usually love thrillers. Reading this I was actually bored. For a thriller, the pace was extremely slow. I read way too many thrillers so I saw the twist from miles away. The author seems to be trying too hard to be edgy. The book is meant to make you feel uncomfortable, and it works at times, but not in an interesting kind of way. The details of the murders, although disturbing, are so few and far in between that I couldn’t stay invested. The characters are unlikable. Not in an interesting, real and raw kind of way. These characters, in my opinion, were just another way for the author to manipulate the reader into being uncomfortable. I wanted to root for someone, but no one was interesting enough. Even the little girls who were victims of terrible crimes felt like shallow, background characters. I did rate it 3 stars because even though it’s not one of my favorite books by far, I would still rather read a mediocre thriller than any other genre.

[Chris]

Mariana wrote: "I must be the only person who did not like this book which is a shame because I usually love thrillers. Reading this I was actually bored. For a thriller, the pace was extremely slow. I read way to..."

While I enjoyed it, I get what you're saying about the author doing a lot of stuff just for the shock value of it. The entire second half of the book felt like that for me. I remember one point having to put it down and go do something else for a minute just to get over the weird feeling I had. So, I guess she succeeded, but you're right, it almost felt forced at times now that I think about it. I was focused on the fact she succeeded making me uncomfortable, but I also don't have experience with thrillers so much. I don't read them often at all.

[Stephanie]

I enjoyed the book but like some reviews I've read above, it was hard to stay in the pages. There was times where I was flipping pages greedily wanting more, then there was times I was having to go back and read because I thought I skipped a page. For the book as a whole when actually completing it I enjoyed it. I was a bit surprised at the ending but then again, it also was one of those "Well that makes sense" moments.

[Lisa]

I read this book back in 2012. My review only says "great story. good plot." But I can tell you I gave it 5 stars. I love thrillers and crime books. Although the author seems a bit out there, I love her.

I'm not sure why I didn't write more of a review back then, the only thing I can think of is I didn't enjoy writing about what I read. I just started getting more into detailed reviews within the last 2-3 years.
I have read all 3 of Gillian's thrillers and I have enjoyed all of them. "Dark Places" however was my favorite.