Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
I just... really love Gillian Flynn's writing. I had so many ongoing reads at the same time as Dark Places that I knew I needed to put other books down and focus on this one. I read the last 300 pages in two sittings and it felt incredible. I was mistaken and thought this was an ever better read than Sharp Objects (close but no cigar!), but the characters were definitely a lot more memorable still.
A lot of the inhabitants of their town were deeply cursed I feel. Diondra was surprisingly fleshed out for someone who was decidedly a villain from the start; I felt so much hatred for her, for Ben's inability to stand up for himself and his family, but I feel like he got his redemption arc. I actually enjoyed Libby's characterisation a lot. Flynn writes deeply unlikable MCs and that's OK with me. I felt very much for Patty and for the children in general, even Krissi. Everyone was lost, neglected, barely swimming through life in this little screwed up rural town. They felt real.
Where I think the plot lost me ever so slightly was the "twist" with the murderer. I felt like it was underdeveloped. I totally forgot who Calvin was since he was mentioned only once overall?... It felt a liiiiitle farfetched. I agree with some of the replies on this thread too - I missed the Murder Club!! I wanted to hear more about the shitty Prisoner Pen Pals (let's call 'em Triple Ps) and I couldn't quite understand why Lyle was so invested in the whole Libby ordeal...
A solid 4.5 for me!
