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)

Love-hate relationship

I overall loved this book (if you can say you "love" about such tragic and horrific subject). I liked the way it flashed from three different perspective and from past to present. The author linked the story piece by piece and unfolded the truth before the reader's eyes. I liked this because the reader got the full, complete story even if the characters did not.

However, I hated the amount of cursing. It was horrific and bordered on wastefulness. I don't think the "f" word every-other-word was necessary and made me question the author's real ability to write. I visualized her setting there writing and thinking, "Hmm I don't know how to convey surprise, so I will just use the f-word. I don't know how to convey anger, so I will use the f-word 3 times in a row." That turned me off and kept me from giving it a higher rating.

If you are a sensitive person or can't handle a LOT of cursing, I would skip this book. If you like a good "true crime" style of story and language isn't an issue, I wouldn't pass up this book.

A little too depressing for an avid horror lover

What did you like best about Dark Places? What did you like least?

I was really attracted to this story initially but as it went on, it just more and more horrible and seemed to wrap up in a gruesome bow that I had trouble stomaching. I don't know why, but it really bothered me, so much so that I really don't want to listen to it again and I love to listen to my stories repeatedly. I've taken forensics classes and studied lots of horrific crime scenes in school but this book was just..well..too dark for me to enjoy. I love Gillian Flynn but this was a depressing ass read. Animal brutality, child murder, call me a hippie, but it was not pleasing.

What was most disappointing about Gillian Flynn’s story?

The overall non redemption and darkness..and I know..it's in the title but DAMN. I loved Sharp Objects and kids are killed in that one too but this one really didn't sit well with me. Maybe because it was an entire family or just I can't put my finger on it. It seemed like it tried to throw you a bone of something happy at the end but I wasn't buying it.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Hell no.

Kept Thinking I Would Figure It Out

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

I just couldn't figure it out! So it was exciting to hear the next piece of the puzzle.

Any additional comments?

This is definitely a dark book, but if you expect anything else from the family axe murder description, well...... I love a good mystery and the jumping back and forth in time was a very interesting way to tell the story. I really liked it - give me a good mystery and some psychological drama - I'm in!

Be prepared to feel seedy

Would you try another book from Gillian Flynn and/or the narrators?

This was my first Gillian Flynn novel but I was aware of Gone Girl. The narrator was good; however, there were times her apathetic sound/cadence (which suits the protagonist) wasn't appropriate for the action.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Predictable after spending some time with the book, but I was still surprised at how scummy the whole novel made me feel. Be prepared to visit dark places, per the title. The audiobook was entertaining...maybe traumatically engaging is a better phrase...but it is hard to call it 'good'. It is a distracting piece of fiction.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I almost felt like she *was* the protagonist.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I'm not certain. I don't think I want to slog through these dark places twice.

Surprisingly Good Read

This wasn't exactly what I was expecting and was pleasantly surprised. Ms. Flynn's writing style is unusual and I really like it. Alternating between the past and the present offers the readers a "back story" which isn't merely narrating what happened. The way the past and the present flow together is remarkable.
The narration was excellent and having multiple narrators added to the story.
Once you decided "whodunit", the story twists and turns so many times, the ending is a huge surprise.
Highly recommend!

not as good as other 2 but still worth the listen

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

evil, strange, interesting

What did you like best about this story?

The twists in the characters as they switched from Past to Current.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Patty Deay

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no laughing or crying... more like wow can people really be this screwed up?

Any additional comments?

Not as good as the other two books she's done.... but still very good. Would have liked a little more to the ending...

Disturbing but good

I have listened to all of Gillian Flynn's books, this one was my least favorite although I did like it. Don't get me wrong i did really enjoy the listen. It is just that the story line seemed a little far fetched. I would still recommend the book as it was an entertaining listen and I think Gillian Flynn is a wonderful author. Also, the narration is great which for me is half the battle in an audio book.

OMG!!! This book will be with you for a while.

Would you listen to Dark Places again? Why?

I would and have listen to Dark Places twice. I had too. The book and the story are so layered and full of little pieces of information that it is hard to grasp it all in the initial read. I (and it just may be me) was so overwhelmed by the huge events happening in the story that I missed a lot of the finer pieces of information but on the second listen more feelings and information could be focused on and it made for a more complete and engaging story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I had two favorite characters one being Patty the mother who tried so desperately to make the best life that she could for her family, the author made this character so identifiable because this mother knows that because of her choices her children are in the lifestyle that they are living in bit the author allows this character to not only have this clarity but also express her feelings and guilt in a way that I believe is honest and heartbreaking.

The second is of course Libby because of the transformation of her character in throughout the story. The reader goes on the journey of this story and the story of the events with Libby and is able to observe with her the fallout of the main tragic event not only on her family but on others who were involved with her family and the results on their lives from that one day.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

The narrators are awesome. I struggles with the Ben parts of the book but I am unsure if that had more to do with the subject matter of his pieces. The only other complaint that i have is the pronunciation of the town Salina. I am from Kansas and so I know it sounds like Sa- line- a not Sa-leen-a. but other than that, they did a wonderful job.

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

This, for me was not a book I could listen to in one setting. As I mentioned before I had to listen to it twice. I did listen to it at every opportunity I had though because I was deeply engaged with the story and the characters.

Any additional comments?

This is a book that is defiantly worth a credit but be warned it is truly dark and there are descriptions of some horrific events in this book. This book has a large amount of profanity in it and some sexual content so not something I would want to listen to on a road trip with my kids or my mother. It is filled with identifiable details from the satanic scare that was a part of the 80's music scene (40 something years olds remember watching 20/20 special about "devil" music and the PMRC) and the grape smelling hair spray (Assie MEGA freeze spray, I know I am not the only one with bangs that made me a foot taller) and scruch socks.

This is a really great book.

I liked it but I didn't love it

I recently finished Gone Girl so I decided to give this book a try. I definitely preferred Gone Girl from this author. This one just didn't grab me as hard. However, Flynn nailed the detailed and realistic characters again. She has a way of getting me to really identify with the POV of the main characters. And her observations are spot on. So, I'll give that portion five stars.
The narration of Libby's and Patty's characters were good. I thought Ben's was not only flat but it was also too old. This dug into the enjoyability
The story was pretty interesting. I liked the mystery aspect. But it wasn't a five star story.
I do still recommend it and I don't regret the credit used.

Outstanding new author

Would you listen to Dark Places again? Why?

Yes; its beautifully written and eerily addictive.

What did you like best about this story?

the continual draw to find out the 'who-dun-it' followed by the incredible twist at the end.

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

I have not, but all 4 narrators were very good.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

"Catching the Kinnakee Kansas killer"

Any additional comments?

I have read the rest of Flynn's books, and they are awesome as well.