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)

Absolutely Riveting

From the moment I started this book I was hooked. I was drawn in by the story, the characters, the settings, and the writing style. Gillian Flynn has created such a wonderfully deep and dark world that isn't hard to relate to. I highly recommend this book.

Surprise Ending

Gone Girl was the first Gillian Glynn book I read. It was a real page turner. This one is even better! Lots of suspense. Great mystery. I didn't figure it out until the very end. The cast of narrators was excellent too!

Not the author's finest hour but a good listen.

Would you listen to Dark Places again? Why?

I usually don't listen to mysteries more than once. I possibly may in a few years when the story has left me more.

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

Yes. It was very gruesome and a very sad, but I didn't want to stop listening. There were lot's of twists and turns. It was also the kind of story that you went over in your mind during the breaks from listening.

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't have a particular scene that I enjoyed but it was a coming together of all the different scenes that I thought were orchestrated very well.

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

Yes. It was very hard to turn off.

Any additional comments?

I read Gillian Flynn's other novels before this one. She had set the bar very high. This one fell a little short for me. However, if this was from another author I would want to listen to more of their work.

Great story..right until the end

I loved this story right until the end. It is perfectly paced and had me locked in. I loved the structure of the novel--switching from the present to the past and back all the while revealing more clues. However the ending was just absurd. It made no sense whatsoever. It didn't completely ruin the whole experience because 90% of it was great but the ending was just awful.

Read before you read Gone Girl

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

I had high hopes for this book, because I loved Gone Girl so much. It was disappointing. Maybe if I had read Dark Places before Gone Girl, I would have appreciated the story more. The author improved between writing this work and her subsequent novels.

Would you ever listen to anything by Gillian Flynn again?

Yes

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

The narators did a wonderful job. I would listen to their works again.

Love love love!

I don't know if it's the story or the performance that I love the most. I love how the author writes and the performance HAS to really enhance it! Dark story, fantastic mystery and is it wrong that I found myself laughing out loud at points? Fantastic job!

I couldn’t figure out why this one wasn’t as great...

After reading sharp objects, I knew I wanted more Gillian Flynn. So I read Gone Girl, and naturally had to follow that one up with Dark Places. I loved the story, but couldn’t figure out at first why this one seemed less interesting. Then I realized it was the narrators. They weren’t performing it as well as the previous narrators had. Specifically, the man who narrates the Ben Day perspective just wasn’t a good fit. He’s meant to be a 15 year old boy, and the guy reading it sounded like an old cranky geography teacher. The story is amazing and captivating, and I would definitely recommend this book, but don’t get it on audible. After you finish this one, I would suggest reading more Gillian Flynn, or Something in the Water.

Wow , not the story I was expecting.

Probably one of the best written books I've read in awhile, though a dark book with twisted characters. Narrators were perfect for the characters and made the book exceptional.

Fast-paced, intriguing read

I read this book in about 3 days because it was so engaging. I was dying to find out what really happened, and it did not disappoint. I would recommend this book for fans of Gillian Flynn or the Serial podcast series. A truly great book.

Good Characters but disturbing story

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

Im not sure I enjoyed it, The story held my interest but it would be difficult to enjoy the story.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Most: The character of Libby Day and the retrospective look at the crime we know already occured
Least: I think the story could have been more suspensul with alluding to the ritualistic killings of animals instead actually having the bull scene in the book.

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

Not sure who's who but they were all good.

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

I did not have an extreme reaction, Which I usually do if I love a book. I felt sort of depressed, not upset that I listened but just felt like " that's it, ok"

Any additional comments?

This book was well written with character development but I think that the peices fit together just a bit too well to form the crime on the specific day.
It is always difficult when you start of knowing what the end result is.
I kind of felt like somthing was missing at the end but I do not think it was a waste of tiem or a credit. It was interesting even though ultimately a sad story.
I loved Gone Girl and think Gillian Flynn is a great author.