Review: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

the lowdown
From the author of Gone Girl comes this new book, Dark Places. At seven years old, Libby Day has lost her family and everything else in her life. Her family was murdered and Libby had testified against her brother, Ben. Now, 25 years later, Libby is opening the case back up in search for the true murderer after The Kill Club contacts her about their interest in Ben and his innocence in the murders. Libby begins a trek down memory lane and meets people from the past who have had some connection to her family and their murders. 

This book really captures you and takes you on a wild ride of Libby Day's life after the murders and how she tries to piece together all the information from the day surrounding the murders. The book kept me on my toes and I did not want to put it down. Just like Gone Girl, I could visualize the actions and the people and how everything and everybody was a piece of the puzzle that Libby Day needed to finally find out who killed her family. Gillian Flynn makes for a story so compelling that you want to, need to, got to find out who killed The Day family and if Libby will do what it takes to get the answers she's looking for.

the good

• Gillian Flynn is able to capture you and bring you into the everyday life of Libby Day. She's able to open up this character and you can imagine her walking around her apartment and going through all of her emotions. She's made Libby a character we can all relate to in one way or another.
• You begin to root for the unsung hero, and hope for Ben Day to be cleared of the murders. Ben is someone you think would be able to pull of a big stunt like this but as you read the book, his character really develops and you develop a sweet spot for him. 
• The mystery of the book is so compelling that by the last 100 pages all I wanted to do was read. I had this need to figure out who murdered the Day family and how everything went down. The writing in this books was so good and the fact that it can captivate you as easy as it did, deserves a star for that alone.

the bad

• It does start off as a slow read but once you get going, it picks up. You have to give the book about 3 pages before you want to dive in and figure out the mystery. The book does do some picking up about halfway and that helps it alot lot. The first paragraph isn't as griping as Gone Girl had been so it takes a bit longer.
• The many different points of view in the story will sometimes confuse you because Flynn flips between the present and the day of the murders. If you aren't paying attention, you could get confused.
• Some of the characters are boring and lack personality. They can seem as if they don't really play a role in the book and that can get uninteresting. Most of them do tie into the Day family and the murders, but otherwise you're left wondering "Why is that person important to the storyline?" 

the quote
"You think you know the answer, you're going to find peace? Like knowing is somehow going to fix you? You think after what happened there's any peace for you, sweetheart? How about this. Instead of asking yourself what happened, just accept that it happened."

skip it/borrow it/buy it
I absolutely adore Gillian Flynn and this book would have to go under the buy it category. It is a book I would pick up and reread all over again because it kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time.

overall score: 7/10
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