Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Author:  Gillian Flynn

Genre:  Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Crime, Fiction, Suspense

Target Audience:  Adults

Reading Experience:  8.5/10

Story:  8.5/10

Writing:  8/10

My Verdict:  8.5/10

This should only be categorized as horror.  Pure, raw horror.  I felt like Carrie from Stephen King's novel of the same name, when they poured all that blood on her.  Instead of getting mad, losing my mind and going murderous on everybody present, I was shocked beyond all reason.  Like, literally shocked.  And scared!  I finished the book without any breath left.  I stared at it, in awe of its genius story but horrified of all the things I will never be able to forget after reading it.  Nothing can be unread.  NOTHING.  Once again, Gillian Flynn shows her brilliance in narrative and story-making, and, of course, the unexpected, brilliant, jaw-dropping ending.

Gillian Flynn, you are simply brilliant.

It's a horrifying book.  It's nightmarish and traumatizing.  I usually don't get squeamish about things like that (I read Cell by Stephen King, for crying out loud!).  But this book... my God.  I thought Gone girl was evil and twisted, but then I met Dark Places and I have never been able to shake off the horror of it.  Which is why I LOVE this book.

So far, the two books I've read of Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl and Dark Places) have made it to my favorites.  It was brilliant, and I should give credit where credit is due.  It was nearly perfect, in my opinion.  Gillian Flynn has proven me, once again, that she can WRITE.  I wonder what Stephen King has to say of this book.

Okay, so here's the plot:

The Day family were massacred in Kansas many years ago.  It was a tragedy.  They even made a poem or song about it!  The mother and two of her girls were massacred in horrifying, macabre ways.  Only little Libby, who was seven at the time, survived.  Libby and Ben, her fifteen-year-old brother at the time, who testified and admitted that he did it.  In the era of satanic rituals and worshiping, the massacre was "proven" to be just that, a sacrifice for Satan.  It scarred the town of Kinnakee, and left the Day name tarnished forever.  

Years later, Libby is now an adult, profiting from the tragedy her family went through; publishing books, and speaking publicly.  But her story is becoming "old news" and she is not profiting anymore.  Desperate, Libby joins a club named the Kill Club dedicated (and obsessed) with solving tragic murder mysteries.  It's a game for them, a hobby, and Libby can profit from it.  They will pay her, but she has to help them prove that Ben is innocent, something they strongly believe.

Hesitant to open old wounds, she accepts.  She needs the money.  But going back to that Darkplace, as she calls it, will not be easy.  In fact, she will not only uncover horrifying truths about her family, but she will also find herself running away - once again - from a killer.

Doesn't seem scary?  That's because I've barely covered the surface of it all.  You can find this in GoodReads or in the back of the book.  You are still in the surface, my dear Bookworm.  And the waters are pitch-black.  It only gets darker and darker from here.

Reading Experience:  8.5/10

It was negative in a positive way.  Okay, let me explain.  I loved the book.  But almost every chapter had me like...

"This is not so... oh God."

Then the graphic parts started coming in.  I've read Game of Thrones and some Stephen King novels, but Dark Places made me CRINGE in horror.  So many details, so many things that can't be un-imagined, unseen...unread!

'I don't need so many details... oh no!  *closes book*  Please, stop!"

Then it got darker and darker, and I start to question my choice in picking up the book.  My inner child just died, and I was 22 at the time...

"The horror!!!"

The book is so filled with dark things, you can't shake it off.  It sticks with you... you can't out-run it, you can't hide from it...

"Yes, hello?  It's following me... it escaped the book, and it's coming for me!"

Okay, we had a laugh.  Now to be serious.

Even though I found the book horrifying beyond words, I loved every page, every sentence of it.  I finished the book in three days and only stopped to eat and sleep.  That's it.  

Not only did Gillian Flynn managed to hook me to the story and not let go, she showed me perfectly-made characters, an atmosphere of darkness, sorrow, dread and impending doom, and a pace that ties it all together in a nice, bloody bow.  It was a perfect narration of a story that seems simple on the surface, but holds so many dark secrets, so many truths, that you will never see the end coming.

Story:  8.5/10

Brilliantly and perfectly crafted.  I think that, like Gone Girl, this is a very complicated story that should've taken YEARS to make into a book.  I don't know how much work went into it, but it was so perfectly-made, that one would think that she spent many, many years on it.

I was hooked the moment I read the back of the book.  I love crime mysteries, and trying to figure out who did what.  Someone is in prison, and MIGHT be innocent, as the Kill Club believes?  Count me in!  A massacre took place and nobody knows what really happened other than what Ben told them?  Count me in!

It's engaging and thrilling from beginning to end.  Gillian Flynn leaves you small breadcrumbs to follow, and then changes the direction of the story.  You start to accuse, saying "He/She did it!".  Then something comes up.  You sigh.  "Okay, no.  Scratch that".

What makes the book so thrilling, you ask?  The Points of view (POV)!  The book is narrated in three points of views.  Libby, present Day (another intentional pun.  Get it?  Her last name is Day! jeje); the mother, in the past and Ben, in the past.  These last two POVs slowly take you from the moment the unfortunate Day begins (okay, last pun.  I promise jaja), to the moment when it all went down.  It's like a ticking time-bomb.  You already know the massacre happens, and you know at what time and Day it happened (I couldn't ressit jaja)... so it's only a matter of time when the clock hits zero and the truth comes to light.  

Believe me, I had many, many theories by the time I finished the book.  My own explanation on what really happened that day.  But I was wrong, very, very, very wrong.

Writing:  8/10

As I said, the book is narrated by present day Libby, past Ben and the mother.  Both Ben and the mother recount the things that happened to each of them before the massacre that took place.  Libby narrates her search for the truth, as she works with the Kill Club to find out what really happen; Ben narrates the things that happened to him before that "night"; and the mother narrates her struggles and the ordeals she went through before she and her daughters were massacred.

The pace is excellent, the characters vivid and, most of them, unlikable and just horrible.  The characters are easy to hate, especially Libby.  Almost all of them were hateful, and I loved that about the book.  It's not a happy story, not a drama, not a romance... so it is only appropriate to add unlikable characters to "spice" things up.  I particularly disliked Libby above them all.  She's unlikable, mean and rough.  And, to be honest, that's why I wanted to stick with her until the end.  She was volatile, downright mean and rough and a total bad-ass.  It added color to the story and the narrative, and made the book a LOT more interesting.  Eight points on the writing!

My Verdict:  8.5/10

The book was horrifyingly dark.  It was nightmarish and jaw-dropping.  It was perfect!  

Ben's story is cringe-worthy and cruel.  Libby's story was thrilling, engaging and suspenseful.  The mother's story was tragic, sad and frustrating.  Overall, they make an unforgettable story as a whole; dark, raw, cruel and horrifying (how many times have I written that word on this review?)...which is why this book is a favorite!

Do I recommend it?  Well... er... that's a hard one...

You see, the book is downright horrible, in a good way.  It's graphic (much, much more than Gone Girl), it's very, very, er, detailed, and somewhat scary.  It is not - I repeat, NOT - a book for minors,  in any way.  But if you want to read a brilliantly-made crime mystery, with great plot twists, perfect pacing, unique characters, a dark, brooding story, a surprisingly unexpected ending... AND, if you can stomach the things shown in this book... then yes, I DO recommend it.  but only if you are an adult, of course.

Gillian Flynn is a great writer, in my opinion.  Her endings are unexpected and jaw-dropping, her stories are perfectly crafted and her pacing is just right.  I do recommend this book if you want to read a great mystery/thriller.  One that is just as good as Gone Girl.  And, if you read Gone Girl, and thought that book was twisted, wait until you read this one.  Put satanic worshiping, a horrible massacre, deadly and dark secrets, pedophilia, sex, drugs and cow-killing  in a bowl and you have Dark Places.  Mrs. Flynn, you've done it again.  Bravo!  Up next:  Sharp Objects!

If you wish to purchase it, check out the Books-A-Million banner on the sidebar.  They have great prices!  

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Salutations fellow Bookworms!  I hope you liked my review!  If you have any thoughts to share, if you agree or disagree or if you’d like to share anything, let me know on the comments!  You can also tweet me on Twitter, follow me on Instagram, on Tumblr or add me on GoodReads!  Happy Reading!