Normally I would only write a review of one book but I feel compelled to lump all three of Flynn's books together, why you ask? It is due in large part to her latest book, Gone Girl which has gotten the most notoriety. Gone Girl has made it on to reading lists for books clubs everywhere (it is one of the new "it" books), there is nothing wrong with this I actually think that Flynn is a talented author. I enjoyed reading all three novels: Sharp Objects, Dark Places, and Gone Girl.
In Sharp Objects we meet Camille who is a Chicago reporter, she has returned to her small home town to cover the story of a possible serial killer. By returning home, Camille must now face her demons that caused her to cut in her past and now cause her to drink. Ms. Flynn does an incredible job of slowly peeling back the layers and showering us with the complexity of her characters. Page after page embroils you deeper into the depths and just when you think the dysfunction can't become any worse, surprise it does. I am floored by the fact that this is Ms. Flynn's first novel. Bravo!
Dark Places gives us Libby Day who witnessed the murder of her family when she was just 7 years old and with her testimony her brother went to prison for the crime. Twenty-five years later, money running low Libby agrees to help a group called the Kill Club for money. The Kill Club is convinced that her brother Ben is innocent and they would like Libby's help with their evidence. Libby convinced of his guilt agrees, could she have been wrong all these years? The story is told in flashback format, successfully. Yet again Ms. Flynn does an amazing job creating characters with depth and she does an astounding job of slowly pulling those layers aside for us to see. Ben and Libby are fascinating people to watch develop through the story (you may want to throttle them both but that is part and parcel of becoming involved in a good book which is a kudos to the author). All I could think was that if her first and second books were this good the third book must be the bomb.
Gone Girl starts out with so much potential. Nick comes home on their 5th Wedding Anniversary to discover his wife, Amy, is missing and it looks like someone has taken her. It isn't long before police start looking at Nick for murdering Amy. Clues start piling up against him, he was cheating, there were financial problems, and worst of all Amy was pregnant and they were overheard arguing about it. The best thing I can say about the novel is that plot line has plenty of twists that would probably keep some people guessing (depends on how much you read or how much tv you watch to be honest). I was very disappointed in the ending, it felt somewhat lackluster to me. The depth of her characters that was present in her first two books was sorely lacking in this one. There was no character development at all, it felt very one dimensional. It wasn't a terrible read but it wasn't up to her standard. I could see this making an excellent movie as it's written, just not a great book. That being said I am looking forward to any forthcoming book by Ms. Flynn, two out three ain't shabby at all....
I agree with you assessment of these books, the first two had much more psychological depth and the last one was more of a crime thriller not bad but I just liked the others better.
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