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)

enthralling, disturbing, amazing.

I am not always a fan of audiobooks but this one was immensely interesting. highly recommended

5 stars

This one kept me plugged in. Every opportunity I had, I was listening to it.

Great Story - Well Read

I have enjoyed this book immensely.
The story is suspenseful and the mystery keeps going.
This is the first book by Gillian Flynn,
but I think my next book will be too.

I have read a lot of other really good reviews for this author's books.
I think I can't go wrong.
Can't wait for the next book.

Good book, unsatisfying ending

I did enjoy this book and I would recommend it. It was read perfectly, it was engaging, dark, mysterious, and I couldn’t stop listening to it. In short, the body of the book was all of the things a dark mystery/thriller should be, however, the ending was entirely unsatisfying. Especially considering all of the pretty good red herrings the author set up, when it finally came time to *reveal* everything, I ended up expecting more. I still enjoyed reading it and didn’t regret the purchase at all, it just felt too coincidental and rushed near the end.

excellent

I loved the main characters. reading was superb. in the end it was sad and poignant

Good Read

This story was very captivating. From the start to finish i was enthralled. Highly recommend ed.

loved this book

this story held my interest and that's not easy to do! Can't wait to watch the movie!

i couldn't put it down!

if you are a fan of Gillian Flynn, you'll enjoy this read. if you don't know who Gillian Flynn is, you should read Gone Girl first. she's an amazing writer. once you realize that, you will want to read everything shes written.

She did it again!

I really enjoyed this book, the only reason I didn’t give it full stars is because I felt like I kinda “figured it out” half way through.. but of course there was a twist I never saw coming. Worth the listen! I LOVED the different narration by male and females, it helped with the jumping from characters to make more sense! MUST READ

Dark . . . but so very interesting

I very much enjoy Gillian Flynn's writing style and very quirky characters and plots. Her mysteries are deep and dark with unexpected, but generally logical, twists. Her book, Gone Girl, was masterful, and so I purchased Dark Places. This novel was filled to the brim with flawed characters, many of them charming in their own imperfect ways. So, a very different experience from reading standard mysteries with a good guy or two and a few bad ones. I thoroughly enjoyed this story . . . it kept my interest clear to the end, but I found the ending to be flawed and not so charmingly as some of the characters. In the final chapters, coincidence piled upon coincidence to wrap the story up. So, three stars for the story because the ending was unbelievable. The rest of the story was very good, though, and worth the credit.