Dark Places

A Novel

By: Gillian Flynn

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman, Cassandra Campbell, Mark Deakins, Robertson Dean

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in "The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas". As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived, and famously testified that her 15-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer.

Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who've long forgotten her.

The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details, proof they hope may free Ben, Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she'll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club...and maybe she'll admit her testimony wasn't so solid after all.

As Libby's search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby's doomed family members, including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town.

Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started...on the run from a killer.

©2009 Gillian Flynn (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

"Gillian Flynn is the real deal, a sharp, acerbic, and compelling storyteller with a knack for the macabre." (Stephen King)

"A gritty, riveting thriller with a one-of-a-kind, tart-tongued heroine." (Booklist)

“A riveting tale of true horror by a writer who has all the gifts to pull it off.” (Chicago Tribune)

Flynn's endings are weak and shameful...

Brilliant writer, overall story and ideas were really good, but the ending is just painful and disappointing. This is my second story that Flynn wrote and its been the same with both, im really excited about the story and where its headed, then when it finally gets to the conclusion I'm so upset and by that point I don't even feel it was worth my time or credit!!! She's got to work on her endings because when I found out who Killed the "Days" I just laughed and rolled my eyes, it surprised me, yes, but not in a good way, in a way that's like"whatever", it's not believable and it's just pathetic.

Not Exactly a Thriller and not Exactly a Mystery

The story follows mostly Libby and her quest for the truth of her family's murder. A lot of this story was told in flashback, and I loved how the tension slowly ratcheted up as the characters hurdled towards their fate. This isn't an action thriller or a mystery as such. I felt like it was more of a personal transformation story with elements of thriller and mystery woven into it. I liked it. True, the story is gory and gruesome at times, but I doubt you'll put this book down. The author is very skilled at pulling the reader in and taking them to dark places.

Great listen

Riveting and well-written with a fabulous voice cast. Loved listening to this one!

The first 13 1/2 of 13 3/4 hours were great ....

What made the experience of listening to Dark Places the most enjoyable?

I was entranced with this story until the very end. The writing was great. The author's descriptions and comparisons were unique and exacting. Her words made it easy to conjure this miserable little family and their run-down world. The method of weaving today with events 25 years earlier kept you wanting more without the frustration of being "strung-along". Her use of the "Kill Club" was an interesting way to move the main charactor along.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Obviously, a different ending. What a DISAPPOINTMENT! I felt like the author just suddenly gave up on her reader (listener) and shoveled out a solution. I'm sorry, but Patty and I are nearly the same age and I grew up in the mid-west. ***SPOILER*** The creepy loan officer from a rural Kansas bank .... no way he would have this solution ... no way ..... ridiculous..... and what a painful to go .... Patty had 4 kids, 3 of them little girls between 7 and 11 years old ..... no way. I felt very let down, especially having invested so much time and having recommended to several others as one of the best audio books (among dozens) I have listened to. Now I have to recant!

Great Writing!

Gillian Flynn is just a fabulous writer. She has a knack with verisimilitude in her characters that makes me want to go back and track just how she built them up, piece by piece- but only after I get to the end of this engrossing mystery. I'd rate this among the best books I've read (or listened to) in quite a while. I loved Sharp Objects and this is even better. LIsten, you won't be sorry!

Page turner like Gone Girl

Dark Places has lots in common with Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn’s 2012 blockbuster novel that I recently finished.

First of all, both novels have more than one main character who is narrating the story. The point of view switches back and forth as the plot unravels in each book. This method works pretty well, partly because it leaves the reader hanging in suspense while the POV switches back to another character.

In both novels, the characters really aren’t very likeable at all. I’d say in Dark Places, this is even truer, and it kept me from enjoying it quite as much as Gone Girl. Libby Day has an excuse for being so messed up and unlikeable in that her whole FAMILY was murdered when she was 7, but that doesn’t stop me from … well, from not liking her much. And her brother Ben was mean and wimpy at the same time. He has the excuse of a very dysfunctional family, but I got really sick of how he was so completely enthralled and controlled by his horrible friends Tres and Diondra. Could anyone really let a “friend” treat you like they did? And would Ben really react like he did – for 24 YEARS? Anyway, I had no sympathy for him.

Even though the woman in Gone Girl is a psychopath, she at least seemed somehow sharper and more interesting than either Ben or Libby.

In both books the endings were pretty unbelievable and that brought my enjoyment down a notch in each case. This “Angel of Debt” character Calvin Diehl at the end of Dark Places? Seemed like an easy out and not very realistic.

Both novels are very dark in nature. They verge on the macabre. In many ways they are over the top… a kind of “pulp fiction.” However, I think that both books are really well written. The stories are so well crafted. Although they aren’t particularly literary in tone or style, I think she is very skilled to be able to so smoothly tell both of these stories and keep the reader on the edge of her seat. To me that IS good writing. I’ve read other thrillers (Harlan Coben comes to mind) where the poor writing just detracted from the book. In Flynn’s novels, the writing just flows along and doesn’t get in the way of the story or the strange characters.

And finally, both books were page-turners. I really wanted to keep reading them both. I just love a good page turner!

Dark, disturbing - not in a good way

I struggled with this one. This story is dark, but in a disturbing way, not in a suspenseful way. The characters are all very flawed and it's hard to connect. I really struggled with this book and kept wishing it was over. Very heavy and upsetting.

Disturbing

Whenever I finish a Gillian Flynn novel, I need to detox with a children's/self-help book. Her work leaves me feeling dirty and depressed. Especially this one.

A rare pleasure

Gillian Flynn is a gifted mystery writer. The narrators all give great performances--and by that I mean they don't over-deliver; they sound as they would in my head. Modern, fresh, keeps you guessing. Wish there were more like this!

Second half better than the second

I enjoyed this book, especially the end. There were a few times in the first half that I considered abandoning the book, but I am glad I didn't. It does move slow at first, but the tension definitely builds and the payoff is worth it. At least I thought so!