Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
This book follows the story of the Day family. The mum Patty, her daughters Michelle, Debby and Libby and her eldest child and only son Ben. They live on a farm in the small town of Kansas City, Missouri. When half of the family (Patty, Michelle and Debby) are murdered Ben is immediately arrested and charged with their murders. 25 years later Libby the only surviving daughter embarks on trying to find the truth if her big brother did indeed kill her family.
The story is told in character chapters, mainly Libby, Ben and Patty and flits between past and present day. What i really enjoy is that you are given a clear image of each character and they all have individual personalities and quirks. Ben is a typical emo angsty teen that has 3 annoying little sisters, a dead beat dad and an overbearing yet clueless mother. Michelle and Debby are whiney and annoying, stereo typical little girls really. Libby, our protagonist has lived as a surviving victim of this tragedy her entire life, she was shipped between relatives until she finally ended up in care. She has never worked a day in her life as after the murders the local people of Kansas City and further afield set up a fund for her and she lives off that right up until the beginning of the story.
When the fund runs out and Libby has very little money to pay rent and survive on she goes to speak at 'The Kill Club' a group of like minded people that are obsessed with serial killers and the cases. She is offered some money to look into the case and speak to the other people involved such as Runner Day, Diondra who was Bens girlfriend and Diane who was Pattys sister and Libbys aunt. She is paid to speak to them and to try and prove that Ben is innocent. With help from The Kill Clubs founder Lyle, Libby embarks on a journey to find out what really happened on the night of the murders.
In true Gillian Flynn style the story is full of suspense and you really have no clue what happens until the last few chapters, its almost fed to you in drips and drabs but not fully summarized until the last chapter.
I really enjoyed this book, not more than Gone Girl but on a par with Sharp Objects. This writing style is flawless and you are sucked in from the first page. I worked out the ending of Gone Girl but this book had me stumped as to who really did it. I had a clear idea of who i thought did it but i was miles off!
4 out of 5 stars from me.
