Dark Places

A Novel

By: Gillian Flynn

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

Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

You will need to know the full story.

The novel slowly unravels the story of what he opened that one night it 1985. From the beginning you will have a strong desire for the truth. A few small twists and turns will keep you in suspense. One part of the brothers story annoyed me and didn’t seem realistic. Maybe I just wished it would have ended differently. It’s a real “page turner” that keeps you wanting to know more.

Good but too clever

Whatever Chuck Palahniuk is the male version of, Gillian Flynn is the female version. Also like Palahniuk, she has the slick novel made into a popular movie, a novel you really like that you can't believe isn't more famous, and one too clever for its own good. Dark places is the final category. However, Flynn has an amazing ability to get into the heads of kids in a way adults tend to have forgotten about. This book also perfectly nails the south’s omnipresent satan worship obsession in the 80s.

Worth the Read

I am not a die hard fan of Gillian, but she is exceptional at character building. Her characters are all flawed, as we all are. They're multilayered and realistic.

I liked it a lot

I really liked this book. It was a good story. I think Gillian Flynn has a dark mind and I think it provides us with great stories.

GREAT!!!

If you could sum up Dark Places in three words, what would they be?

Suspenseful, calmly dark.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I kept wanting to get in my car and go just so I could see how it ends.

Couldn't stop listening!

Great story, kept me hooked! I listened every free minute I had. All the different readers were great, too. None of their voices got on my nerves. You'll love this book if you liked Gone Girl!

Very dark, but very good

I really like this book - I like better than sharp objects but not as much as gone girl. Pretty depressing, but the story had me hooked.

So depressed

Here's what I have learned from Gillian Flynn novels: the Midwest sucks, everyone is crazy and you won't like anyone. Basically life will give you lemons, you will not make lemonade and your life sucks.

Dark and Twisty

Gillian Flynn is brilliant. And scary. Dark Places was twisted and dark, tense and surprising. Libby Day was another trademark Flynn heroine: damaged, frightening, and not totally reliable. I had suspicions, but was never sure who murdered the Day family, and why. I love the hard twists, and the not knowing.

Dark Places had three main narrators, with another thrown in at the very end. All were excellent storytellers.

Great Mystery

What did you love best about Dark Places?

The different voices for different characters really helped to break up the story and make you see different points of view.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, you never knew what was going to happen next. You would begin to like a character, then hate them, then like them.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it was